


Duty

by Electrons



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Forced Marriage, Gen, Yue (Avatar) Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26232784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Electrons/pseuds/Electrons
Summary: Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe has always done her duty. Even as the Fire Nation attacked again and again, weakening their city and taking all of their benders away, Yue stayed strong for her people. When Yue finds the Avatar hidden in an iceberg and uses the bending she knows is forbidden to her to free him, everything changes.
Relationships: Aang/Teo (Avatar), Hama/Kanna (Avatar)
Comments: 132
Kudos: 94





	1. The Siege of the North

**Author's Note:**

> This story will be in reverse order of season one, because they're going in the opposite direction. So that will be kind of fun. Also, anything too similar to canon will be skipped. If a conversation or scene plays out exactly how it did before, it won't be written down.

**Yue**

"You're a Waterbender!" Aang grinned at Yue. "That's great! Can you show me some cool moves?"

Yue shook her head. "I'm not a Waterbender. I'm a healer. There are no Waterbenders left in the Northern Tribe. The Fire Nation took them all away."

Aang tilted his head to the side and gave her a quizzical look. Yue still couldn't believe that what she was seeing was real. "You bent me out of that iceberg though," Aang protested. "That's waterbending."

Yue felt her cheeks start to heat up. She composed herself. She reminded herself that she was a princess and needed to act like one. "That was an accident," she said in a calm and distinguished tone. "I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that incident to anyone."

Aang shrugged. "Alright." He frowned. "What does the Fire Nation want with Waterbenders?"

Yue didn't let her feeling of incredulity show on her face. "They want to wipe us out," Yue said. "They want to win the war."

"What war?"

Yue looked at the chunks of shattered ice that surrounded them. The sleeping sky bison still had ice crystals in his fur. "Aang," she said in her calm and soothing dulcet tone. "Do you know how long you were in that iceberg for?"

Aang shrugged. "A few days?"

Yue had a suspicion that it might have been a lot longer than that. She kept that thought to herself. She was used to keeping her thoughts to herself. It wasn't always best for a princess to speak her mind. "I see. Would you like to come back to the palace with me?"

"A palace," Aang asked. He looked intrigued. "That sounds fun!" He smiled at the sleeping beast. "I'll be right back, Buddy!"

Yue forced herself to smile. The palace wasn't what it once had been. Without Waterbenders to maintain it, much of the palace had become structurally unsound and unsafe. It had become less of a palace and more of a large house. Still, words had meaning. As long as Yue continued to call it a palace, their people would see it as one.

Yue led Aang away from the icefield she used as a refuge when she needed to be alone. She glanced at the dozens of broken glaciers from prior outbursts and kept her emotions locked tight inside. She had thought this was the one place she could be herself, but she realized she should have known better. There was no such place.

Several people cast strange looks at Yue once she returned to the tribe with Aang, but she kept her gaze straight ahead. She led Aang inside the weeping palace. She took him to her father's audience chamber. She instructed Aang on how deep to bow when asking to be seen. Aang nodded with a delighted expression.

Chief Arnook returned his daughter's bow with one of his own. He glanced at Aang and couldn't hide his confusion. No one was as good at hiding their emotions as Yue, not even her father. "Who is this?"

"Hi! I'm Aang!" Aang forgot to bow.

"Where did you come from, child?"

"The Northern Air Temple," Aang explained.

Chief Arnook raised a brow. "Is that right?"

"He's an Airbender, Father," Yue confirmed. "I saw him use his bending."

"This is most unexpected. We have been led to believe that the last Airbenders died a hundred years ago. How did your tribe survive, child?" Yue winced at her father's lack of tact.

Aang frowned. "What? What are you talking about? We're not dead. We live in the Air Temples."

Chief Arnook opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted when a warrior ran in. "Chief! A Fire Nation ship! Our scouts spotted it headed straight for us! It will be here in a matter of hours."

Chief Arnook's face hardened. He glared at Aang. "Do you know anything about this?"

Aang tilted his head. "Do I know anything about what?"

"Don't play games with me. Are you with them? Are you a spy meant to report back to the Fire Nation on our defenses? Tell me the truth."

Aang looked from Arnook to Yue and back to Arnook again. "I really don't know what you're talking about. I think you might be confused. I should get back home."

"You aren't going anywhere. Men, lock up the spy. Princess Yue, return to your quarters, where you will be safe. It's time to prepare for battle."

A thousand protests died on her tongue. It didn't matter that she knew without a doubt that Aang couldn't be Fire Nation. The Chief had spoken. She couldn't question him in front of his men. Appearances mattered. She bowed in acquiescence.

Yue didn't watch Aang get escorted away. She walked towards her room as she had been ordered. She didn't see Aang's sad eyes aimed at her. She could feel them though.

**Zuko**

Zuko stood calf deep in the puddle created when he destroyed the Northern Water Tribe's final wall. It hadn't been difficult. There weren't any Waterbenders left to repair the damage. He scowled at the warriors arrayed in front of him. "Where is he?!"

The warriors held tight to their spears and glared at Zuko. "Where is the Avatar?!" Zuko looked at an empty building nearby and sent his flames towards it. The ice melted and deepened the water they were all standing in.

"No one has seen the Avatar in a hundred years," one of the warriors said.

"Liar! I saw the blue light in the sky!"

Zuko turned towards another building, but then he hesitated. He could sense heat inside. The heat could be from human bodies. If there were people hiding inside, they were more than likely civilians. Zuko turned his flames to a different, cold, building.

"We're not lying! The Avatar isn't here!"

Zuko turned to his men. "Search the whole city! Bring everyone to me who looks like they might be old enough!" Zuko saw the warriors shift into attack stances. He scowled. He didn't want to fight them; they weren't his enemy.

"It doesn't have to be this way," Zuko told the warriors as he got into a bending stance. "If you just tell me where the Avatar is-"

"He's dead!" A strong, clear, beautiful voice rang out. A young woman with strange shining white hair ran from one of the buildings. Zuko looked at her and felt a strange sensation in his chest that he couldn't name. "He died sixteen years ago."

The woman's words distracted Zuko from her mesmerizing appearance. He scowled. "That's impossible!"

"He was an old man," the woman said in a voice of complete calm and serenity. "He was almost a century old. He passed away, and our Water Sages identified a child born that very hour as the new Avatar."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. "Where is this child?"

"Right here." She stood tall and proud. Her white hair glowed. "It's me."

Zuko looked at her. She projected the image and energy of a being not of the physical world. If anyone was part-spirit, Zuko believed that it was her. He nodded.

All of the Tribesmen insisted that she was lying and just trying to protect the tribe, but Zuko ignored them. He stared into her eyes and knew that she was special. She was the one he had been searching for. "What is your name?"

"I am Yue. If I surrender, if I go with you of my own free will, do you promise to leave my people alone?"

Zuko nodded. He had never wanted to attack them to begin with. "I swear by the honor of the Fire Nation." He couldn't swear by his own honor, as he had none.

Yue stared into his eyes just like he had stared into hers. She was making a decision. Zuko was willing to give her time to do so. He knew it was no easy thing to leave one's home. He knew that better than anyone.

She let him take her away. She walked onto the ship of her own accord. It never even occurred to Zuko to attempt to bind her. His uncle stood on the deck of the ship and watched Zuko follow Yue onto the ship with an expression Zuko couldn't read.

"Nephew, who is our guest?"

"This is Avatar Yue," Zuko said. "I'm taking her back to the Fire Nation." Zuko watched Yue as he spoke. She didn't tremble, didn't so much as twitch. "Lieutenant! Prepare to depart at once!"

"I see. Avatar Yue, would you care for a cup of tea?"

"I would, yes. I thank you." Her voice was strong. She didn't sound afraid, or even inconvenienced.

Zuko gestured for Yue to follow him. He knew he should be securing Yue in a cell, but she was cooperating. He couldn't begrudge her a cup of tea. Zuko started to set the table in the ship's small dining room.

"Thank you," Yue whispered.

"For what," Zuko asked. He didn't understand why his enemy would thank him.

"Thank you for sparing my people."

"I said that I would," Zuko reminded her in an irritated tone.

"Thank you for keeping your word," Yue replied.

Zuko scowled at her. "Why would I want to hurt a bunch of defenseless Water Tribe savages? What would be the point? The Avatar is a threat to the Fire Nation; without the Avatar, your people are of no consequence."

Yue flinched. She looked at the ground.

"Nephew," Uncle Iroh said in a mild reproachful tone. He stood in the doorway holding a pot of tea. He wore a frown. "There's no reason to be rude to our guest."

Zuko scowled again. "She's our prisoner," Zuko corrected his uncle.

"That is still no excuse for rudeness," Iroh insisted. He turned to Yue. "I must apologize for my nephew."

"I accept your apology," Yue said in a resigned tone of voice. "Thank you for sharing your tea with me."

"Of course! Sharing tea with a new friend is one of life's many delights."

"She isn't our friend," Zuko insisted. "She's the Avatar."

"Yes," Iroh said as he began to pour three cups of tea. "How many elements have you mastered, Avatar Yue?"

Yue picked up her cup and bowed to Uncle Iroh in thanks. She took a delicate sip. "The Fire Nation took all of our Waterbenders away, so there was no one to teach me. I've never left home, because it isn't safe. Therefore, I had no chance to learn any of the other bending disciplines either."

Zuko watched Yue's tea stop steaming in her hands. "So you don't know anything?" Zuko felt relieved. The less of a threat Yue was, the less likely it was that his father would need to hurt her.

"I can heal," Yue said.

"That is a great gift," Iroh said in a somber tone. "It takes a great deal of time and dedication to master healing. You should be proud of yourself."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Before anyone could say anything else, Zuko heard a loud crash on the deck. Zuko sprang to his feet. "What was that?!"

When the battle was over, when the strange Airbender boy had stopped glowing and was flying away on some peculiar beast with Yue, Zuko felt a confusing mix of emotions. He felt embarrassed, because he had been lied to. He felt ashamed, because he had faced the Avatar and lost. He felt hopeful, because at least he had seen with his own eyes indisputable proof that the Avatar existed.

Strangest of all, he felt relief. Yue wasn't the Avatar. He wouldn't have to hurt her. He wasn't sure why he cared about that.

"Do you want us to turn around, Sir?"

Zuko glared. "Turn around?! Why would we do that? The Avatar is getting away!"

"Those Water Tribe savages deceived us. Shouldn't we go back to teach them a lesson? They have no walls and no benders. It would only take an hour or so to demolish the city with our catapult."

Zuko gave his subordinate a look of complete disdain. "Those Water Tribe peasants don't matter. Only the Avatar matters. Follow that bison!" Zuko stormed away.

Uncle Iroh was giving Zuko another look Zuko couldn't understand. If Zuko hadn't known better, he might have thought it was approval. Of course he knew better though. Zuko went to his quarters to meditate.


	2. The Waterbending Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yue and Aang begin their journey south to the Southern Water Tribe, but Aang still hasn't quite realized the full extent of the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'm still working on Silence, this idea just really ran away with me.

**Aang**

Aang sighed with relief as he watched the large metal ship get smaller and smaller in the distance. Yue was safe. She was a little bruised from their escape, but she was alive and well, just like Aang had promised Chief Arnook. Aang turned to smile at her and then froze.

Yue stared at him in horror. "Take me back," she ordered in a quiet, but oh so firm, voice.

"Take you back home?" Aang wished he could. The Chief had been explicit with his orders.

Yue's expression became even more horrified. "Of course not," she whispered. "Take me back to the ship."

"What?! Why?!" Aang glanced back at the ship that had become as small as a toy. Ant-sized soldiers were scurrying around melting ice away in order to free themselves.

"The Commander swore that he would spare my people if I went with him. Without me there, nothing is stopping him from attacking my home."

Aang took a moment to process this. He looked into Yue's large blue eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. He was. He didn't hold a grudge against Chief Arnook for imprisoning him. He'd just been trying to protect the people he loved.

Yue kept her spine straight and her face impassive. "As the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe, I order you-"

"I can't!" Aang looked down at the ocean. "I promised the Chief that I would rescue you and take you South." Aang looked up and met her eyes again. He pleaded with his gray ones for her not to make him break his promise.

Her eyes were wide and uncomprehending. "Why would my father do that," she whispered.

"Well…" Aang shifted in discomfort. "I'm the Avatar."

"Yes, I gathered," Yue said. She didn't sound impressed.

"The Chief said that you told the Fire Nation you were the Avatar," Aang explained.

Yue sighed. "They would have destroyed the entire tribe looking for you. I did what I had to do to protect my people."

"But they would have figured out that you were lying eventually," Aang pointed out. "Weren't you afraid of what they would do then?"

Yue looked straight ahead, past Aang, towards the horizon. "I did my duty."

"What if they hurt you," Aang asked. He remembered the soldiers on the ship throwing fire at him. He shuddered. No one had ever tried to hurt him like that before.

"I did my duty," Yue reiterated.

Aang took a moment to process that. Yue sat calm and still, hands folded in her lap. Aang was starting to realize that he didn't understand her. She kept all of her feelings bound up tight inside.

"Why did my father tell you to take me South," Yue asked after a long moment of silence. "I don't understand."

"Chief Arnook said that the only free Waterbenders left are in the Southern Water Tribe. He told me that…" Aang frowned and began to fidget in discomfort. He didn't want to think about what Chief Arnook had told him. He didn't want to be the world's last hope.

"He said that there would be Masters there that could teach me waterbending. He also said that you would be safe there. He made me promise to get you to the South Pole," Aang explained. "He wants you to be safe."

Yue wouldn't meet his eyes. "I see." Yue's posture was still perfect. Her voice betrayed no emotion.

Aang sighed. "It's not all bad," he said in an attempt to cheer her up. "We're on an adventure! It could be fun!"

"Yes, Avatar Aang," she whispered.

"And once we get to the South Pole, you can learn waterbending! There will be plenty of Masters there to teach us. We can learn together!"

Yue shook her head. She let her blue eyes meet his gray ones. "In my tribe, it is forbidden for women to learn waterbending. We use our gifts to heal," she explained.

"But when you freed me from the iceberg-"

Yue cut Aang off with no more than a severe look. She hadn't even opened her mouth, but Aang felt more abashed than he would have if she had yelled at him. "I am not a Waterbender," Yue said in a voice of quiet strength. "I am a healer. It is a woman's duty to learn to heal."

"Why can't you learn both," Aang asked.

"That is not our way. A man's role is to protect, with violence if necessary, and to build. A woman's role is to repair and sustain. We support their endeavors, and they keep us safe and provided for."

Aang frowned. "That's not what the monks taught me," he said. He thought about the work done at the Air Temples. Everyone contributed in accordance with their abilities. Gender never factored in.

"Your people's ways are different from my people's," Yue conceded. "I must honor the traditions of my ancestors. Otherwise, we will lose who we are. If that happens, the Fire Nation will have truly won."

Aang frowned. He didn't understand. He supposed it didn't matter. If Yue didn't want to learn, she didn't have to. "Well, once we get to the Northern Air Temple, everything will be better."

Yue frowned. "I thought we were going to the South Pole."

"We are, but I have to tell the monks where I'm going first. I don't want them to worry."

Yue stared at him. Her gaze made Aang very uncomfortable. He squirmed under it. He felt like she was pulling him apart with her eyes.

"Yes, Avatar Aang."

"Umm… You can just call me Aang."

Yue nodded. She looked straight ahead, posture perfect. "Yes, Aang."

"Is it okay if I call you Yue," Aang asked.

"Alright," she whispered.

There was a long stretch of awkward silence. Aang liked Yue, there weren't many people he didn't like, but she wasn't much fun to talk to. Aang decided that he just needed to find a topic that interested her. "Hey, can you teach me to heal?"

Yue pulled her gaze from the horizon to look at him. "You want to learn to heal?"

"Well, I'm the Avatar, right? I'm supposed to learn every type of bending. It will be a while before we get to the South Pole. I might as well learn everything I can before I get there."

Yue nodded. "Yes," she said. "I will teach you."

"Great!" Aang beamed at her. "We should make camp soon anyway. Appa is still a little tired. Then we can get started!"

Yue nodded, but she didn't return his smile, not even with a small one. "Yes, Aang."

**Yue**

Yue sat down on her ankles in front of the stream. She pulled some water out of the stream and held it between her hands. "Master Yagoda taught me that the human body is full of water. It moves through us, regulating the flow of energy within us."

She looked at Aang. He was staring at her with rapt attention. It felt strange to be talking to a boy about healing. Healing had always been a woman's purview and not something it was socially acceptable to discuss with men. Aang was the Avatar though. He was a special case.

"There are different types of water in the body, and there are different types of energies. The first and most important thing a healer must learn is how to detect when a person's energies are out of balance."

Aang nodded. "What happens when the energies are out of balance?"

Yue looked up at the sky. "There is energy all around us. These energies come from the Sun and the Moon. They are positive and negative. When the energies are in balance, life thrives. When they are not…"

Yue looked down at the water in her hands. "If the sun shone all day and night, the world would be burnt to a crisp. Crops would blacken and die in the fields. Rivers would dry up."

"But without the sun," Aang said. "The plants wouldn't be able to grow."

"Yes," Yue agreed. She let the water coat her hands. "May I?"

Aang nodded eagerly. "Yes!"

Yue put her hands on him. She felt for his energies. "Your Sun and Moon are in perfect balance," Yue said. She felt the chi thrumming under her hands. She had never felt such lively energies before. "Your energy is strong too."

Aang grinned. "Maybe that's an Avatar thing."

"Very likely," Yue agreed. "Now, reach out with your energy and try to feel mine."

Aang closed his eyes and reached out for her. Yue could feel his chi connecting with her own. She remembered doing this with Master Yagoda. Master Yagoda's energy had been cool and soothing. Aang's was loud and joyful.

"Good," Yue said. "Which is stronger in me, Moon energy or Sun energy?"

"Moon energy, definitely," Aang said at once. "You have a lot of Moon energy. Is that healthy?"

"It is for me. Each body is different. It is rare for anyone to be in perfect balance. A good healer must learn to understand what each individual's unique balance looks like. That way, they can better assist if that balance is disturbed."

Aang bit his lip. He looked confused. "So some people have more Moon energy, and some people have more Sun energy. But, that isn't a bad thing?"

Yue pulled her hands away. She felt her connection to Aang's playful energy break. "The Moon Spirit is the protector of my people. Those who are closer to her are blessed with her gifts. We still need the Sun, but through our connection to the Moon, we can do great things." She stared at the flowing water in front of her.

"Like waterbending!"

Yue repressed a flinch. "Yes, like waterbending," she admitted. "That is the gift the Moon once granted to the men of our tribe. To the women, she gifted healing."

Yue thought about shattered icebergs. Then she pushed the thought away. She was a healer. That was her duty.

"So, why aren't there anymore Waterbenders in your tribe," Aang asked.

Yue refused to flinch. Aang's simple question had not been born of ill intent, but it still cut into her. She didn't even bat an eyelash as her heart bled. "They were taken away by the Fire Nation."

"I still don't understand. I don't understand why there's a war. I don't understand why the Fire Nation wants to hurt the Water Tribes." Aang looked at Yue with a desperate expression.

"I don't understand either," Yue said. All her life, she had been taught that the people of the Fire Nation were vicious, unnatural, perverted, destructive and bloodthirsty. She hadn't seen that on the Fire Nation ship though. The commander and his uncle had civilized manners. She couldn't understand how people capable of being friendly and polite could also be cruel colonizers.

"Things will make sense once we get to the Northern Air Temple," Aang pronounced. "Monk Gyatso will be able to explain what's happening."

"Of course," Yue whispered. "Perhaps we should halt the lesson for now and get some rest. I don't suppose my father sent you with any supplies?"

"Yep! He did. Do you want me to make you something to eat?"

Yue gave him a soft smile. "Thank you. That is very kind of you."

"Do you mind vegetarian food? That's all I know how to make."

Yue didn't care. She wasn't really hungry, but she knew it was important for both of them to eat. All she could think about was the Fire Nation ship retuning to her home and razing it to the ground. In trying to save them, she had doomed them.

"Yue?"

Yue blinked. She realized, to her chagrin, that she had gotten lost in thought. "Anything you make will be fine," she assured him in a whisper.

"Are you okay?"

"I am very well. I thank you for your concern."

"If something is upsetting you, you can talk to me," Aang said with heartbreaking sincerity.

Yue just shook her head. She took a deep breath and let it out. She couldn't let herself be distracted. Her father's will had to be carried out. She would make sure the Avatar made it to the South Pole, or she would die trying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All reviews are appreciated, positive or negative. Feedback is fuel for writers!


	3. The Northern Air Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The GAang gets a new member and learns Zuko's name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm still working on my other fics. I am. Really. I promise.

**Zuko**

Zuko pulled himself onto a narrow ledge to take a brief respite. He needed to keep moving. The Avatar had a head start, and if Zuko was right about his intended destination, he had probably already reached the temple. Still, Uncle Iroh's voice nagged him in the back of his mind, reminding him that a swift ascent would do him no good if he tired himself out and fell to his death.

Zuko sighed. He slammed a climbing spike into the mountainface and started scrambling up again. Zuko hadn't fought the Avatar for long on his ship, but it had been long enough to examine his clothing's appearance. Zuko recognized a few unique hallmarks of Northern craftsmanship. The Avatar was from the Northern Air Temple somehow, which should have been impossible. There were no Air Nomads left at the Northern Temple.

There weren't supposed to be any Air Nomads left anywhere, Zuko reminded himself. Yet, there was at least one. None of what Zuko had seen made any sense, but it didn't matter. Zuko had to catch the Avatar, and he was sure he'd been headed for the Northern Air Temple.

Zuko sped up. The last time he'd been to the Northern Air Temple, two years ago, there had been people living there. They were Earth Kingdom, technically, but they had been cooperating with the occupation, supplying Fire Nation soldiers with weapons and supplies. They had done their duty and served the Fire Nation, therefore the Fire Nation was obligated to protect them. Zuko was obligated to protect them, and he didn't think the Avatar would be happy to find Fire Nation collaborators living in his temple.

Zuko's foot slipped, and he clung tighter to the mountainside. He felt his pulse accelerate. Pebbles bounced down through the clouds to the ground below. Zuko was starting to get light-headed from the thin air.

He took a deep breath. He had done this before and could do it again. He had a duty. Zuko kept climbing.

By the time Zuko got to the temple, his vision was spotty and his muscles were trembling. Zuko found a broken wall and tucked himself into a corner where he would be hidden. He took a few steadying breaths. Zuko wanted water, but he had prioritized being lightweight when packing for his climb. He put the heel of his hand against his forehead and tried to will away his rising headache.

Zuko took a deep breath. He exhaled as slow as he could. He took another deep breath. He let it out. He looked up.

The sun was beginning to set. Calm began to fall over Zuko. It was too bad there wasn't a new moon that night. Zuko loved the freedom of moving around at night, unseen. A waxing crescent would have to do.

Zuko stood up. He reached out with his bending and felt the warmth inside the temple. He could feel the areas where people were sleeping. There was a lot of heat from congregated bodies, but individual temperatures were low, as a person's international temperature tended to drop while asleep.

Zuko moved through the temple, avoiding people. It was easy. He found a fountain and released a sigh of relief. Zuko knelt in front of it and cupped his hands. He drank with the eagerness of a man that had just exited a desert.

Zuko splashed some water on his face and took a deep breath. His head hurt a lot less, and he found it easier to think. He hadn't seen signs of recent violence during his walk, so Zuko concluded that he must have somehow beat the Avatar to the temple. The only other possibility Zuko could think of was that the Avatar had been going somewhere else entirely and Zuko had lost him. Zuko didn't want to consider that option.

Zuko felt a body approaching the fountain. He stood up to melt away into the shadows, but then he froze. He recognized that energy. Every instinct in Zuko screamed to flee, but he didn't. He stood there and waited for her.

Yue froze when she saw him. Her eyes widened. She didn't, however, try to scream or run. She just stared at him.

He stared back at her, and for a long moment, neither of them spoke. The crescent moon lit up her hair. Her blue eyes shone with a powerful energy. It was the strongest energy Zuko had ever felt before.

She spoke first. "My people," she said. "Will you tell me of their fate? I… I shouldn't be spared the knowledge of what I did to them."

Zuko stared at her without comprehension. "What?"

"After Aang and I left-"

"Who's Aang?" Zuko was beyond confused, and he was beginning to wonder if he was still a little oxygen deprived.

"The Avatar," Yue explained.

"Oh," Zuko said. He hadn't considered that the Avatar had a name. He felt silly. Everyone had a name. A thought occurred to him. "You said your name was Yue."

She nodded.

"Was that true?"

She didn't react with her face or body language, but he saw something in her eyes. He couldn't name the feeling though. "I am Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe."

The words felt heavy and powerful in Zuko's ears. He understood that. It was a terrible burden, the fate of a nation. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

Yue bowed in acknowledgement.

Zuko returned the bow. He felt his uncle smiling with approval in the back of his head. Yue might be his enemy, but that was no excuse to be rude. "Is the Avatar here?"

Yue didn't answer. She stood straight and still. She looked him in the eye and did not speak.

"I have to take him back to the Fire Nation."

"What happened to my people after I left," Yue whispered.

Zuko felt his temper flare up as his frustration rose. He didn't understand why she kept asking that. "How should I know what happened to your people? I was following you!"

Yue frowned in confusion. "You… You didn't go back?"

"Why would I go back? The Avatar wasn't there. My mission is to capture the Avatar. I must bring him back to the Fire Nation."

She still looked confused. "I broke my word. I don't understand. You didn't go back? My people are still alive?" He saw something else in her eyes that he couldn't understand, something he might have almost named as hope.

"Your people are of no concern to me. All I want is the Avatar. Where is he?"

She didn't answer.

"Princess Yue, I order you to tell me where he is," Zuko said. "In the name of the Fire Lord, protector of the Eternal Flame and rightful ruler of everything the Sun touches, I order you to tell me where the Avatar is."

Yue looked up at the sky. "The sun isn't out."

Zuko scowled. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I acknowledge your desire, and it does not go unappreciated," Yue said. "I thank you."

Zuko felt an emotion flare up in him, hot and uncomfortable. After a moment, he identified it as shame. He wondered what his mother would say if she could see him threatening a healer with no possible way of fighting back against him. "Come back to my ship with me. After I capture the Avatar, I will bring you back to your people. No one will hurt them or you."

"That is a kind offer," Yue said. "One which it would give me great joy to accept."

Zuko felt relief wash over him like a wave. After so much ill luck, it felt amazing for something to finally go well for him. Then he realized that Yue was still speaking.

"However, I cannot. I have a duty to carry out my father's will."

Zuko reminded himself that he was never lucky. Nothing could ever just go his way. He wanted to argue with her, but he knew it was pointless. Zuko would never betray his father, and one look at Yue showed Zuko that in that respect they were the same.

Zuko took a deep breath and sighed. "Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, I am taking you into custody. Will you submit to be bound?"

Yue held out her hands. "I surrender, Prince Zuko." Her last surrender hadn't gone well, but Zuko decided not to hold it against her. The Avatar couldn't be an easy person to defy. She'd had no choice but to go with him. Zuko wasn't going to let the same situation happen twice.

**Iroh**

Iroh poured two cups of tea and then settled down across the table from Zhao. "It is always an unexpected delight to see a familiar face far from home." Iroh smiled at Zhao as he picked up his cup. He took a sip.

Zhao glanced at his tea. "I couldn't agree more, General Iroh. I must confess to some confusion though. I was to believe that you were traveling with Prince Zuko."

"Ah yes, an energetic lad, my nephew. He is prone to such exerting whims. I am too old to be running around in the woods after armadillophants. Although, I told him to save me the tusks if he does catch one. They are said to have medicinal properties when ground up and put in tea."

Zhao raised a skeptical brow. Iroh knew the other man was too savy for his own good. To Iroh's luck, he was also quite arrogant. Zhao's confidence in his own intelligence made him prone to underestimate others. "I trust this is just a normal blend?"

"Of course!" Iroh gave a hearty laugh. "You are a young man yet, Commander. I doubt you are afflicted by the curse of arthritic joints as I am."

Zhao stared at and did not touch his tea. "When do you think Prince Zuko will be back? I would hate to disrespect the Firelord's son by not calling on him while he was in my region."

"You know young men and their hunting trips. He will return when he has discovered something new about himself, I do not doubt." Iroh sipped his tea.

Zhao continued to glare at the tea. "How goes Prince Zuko's search for the Avatar?"

Iroh didn't have to fake his exhausted sigh. "After a hundred years with no sighting, I do not think the Avatar is likely to reappear." He took another sip of his tea. He was proud of the blend's subtle flavors. "You really should try this, Commander."

Zhao glanced at the tea with disdain. "So then Prince Zuko has given up?"

Iroh took another careful sip. "No. You know how stubborn young men can be. He will have to come to the conclusion himself, in his own time."

"Hmm…" Zhao picked up the cup, but he didn't drink. He just kept looking at the tea. "Wise words."

There was a knock at the door. Zhao set the cup down and grinned. "Enter," he said, even though they weren't on one of his ships. The order was Iroh's to give or withhold with Zuko away. Iroh didn't bother to correct Zhao.

A soldier entered and bowed. "Commander Zhao, we questioned the crew as you said."

Iroh sipped his tea. He didn't express his displeasure with a word or movement.

"And," Zhao promoted with impatience.

"The crew reports that Prince Zuko encountered the Avatar at the North Pole and allowed him to escape."

It grieved Iroh to know how little loyalty he and his nephew inspired in their crew. He didn't blame them though. He understood that none of them would want to be the sole holdout. Iroh chuckled. "There was a girl that claimed to be the Avatar, but she turned out to be an imposter. Prince Zuko quickly uncovered her deception."

Zhao picked up his tea and tapped his finger against the fine porcelain. "We are very close to the Northern Air Temple, very close. It can't be a coincidence. It looks like our next meeting with the Mechanist is going to be a bit early."

Iroh frowned. "The Avatar is gone, Zhao."

Zhao sipped his tea. "We'll see about that." He frowned. "It's gone cold."

"Allow me to make you another cup," Iroh suggested.

Zhao got to his feet. "Another time. Thank you for your hospitality, General Iroh." Zhao bowed and then departed.

Iroh sat alone and sighed. He had done all he could to help his nephew. The rest was in Zuko's hands.

**Teo**

Teo stared at his father in shock and horror. "You've been making weapons for the Fire Nation!"

"Teo, please, you have to understand-"

Aang was shaking next to Teo. Teo didn't know which emotion had overwhelmed him, rage or grief. All he knew was that Aang was feeling a lot of both. "You destroyed something sacred to create things that kill people!"

"I- I didn't have a choice. Please, you have to leave. We can discuss this later." Teo had never seen his father look so afraid before, not even when there was that dangerous gas leak under the temple.

"We'll discuss it now!" Aang trembled with rage. "You destroyed my home! You defiled this place of peace and learning! All that remained of my heritage was here, and you reduced it to rubble so that you could make weapons?!"

"Dad," Teo whispered. "How could you?"

"I did it for you, Teo. I did it because I love you."

"This isn't love," Teo insisted. "Aang is right. This is profane." A bell tinkled somewhere in the office, but Teo couldn't care less.

"Please," his father begged. "He's here. Hide, both of you. I'm sorry I destroyed the artifacts of your people. I don't want to be responsible for your death as well. Go!"

A door opened. A man wearing Fire Nation armor stepped out. "Mechanist! We need to talk." The man froze. "Who is this?"

"No one! They are just children who stuck their noses where they shouldn't," the Machinist insisted. "I'm sorry Commander Zhao. I'll make sure they're disciplined after our meeting. Run along now, children."

Teo looked at the man, Commander Zhao, and felt fear seize him. His guts twisted, and he felt cold. Zhao looked at Teo like he was a worm and Zhao couldn't decide if stepping on him was worth getting his shoes dirty. "Wait," Zhao said. "What are their names?"

"Names," the Mechanist asked.

"Do you savages not name your children? Are you all given ridiculous nicknames like yours in place of proper titles? What are they called," Zhao asked in an exasperated tone.

"I'm Bonzo," Aang said with a decent facsimile of a cheerful affect. "This is my friend, Bumi. We wanted to see what was in the secret room! What is all of this stuff?"

Zhao sneered. "Get out of here, both of you."

Teo grabbed the wheels of his chair and started to maneuver himself back towards the door. Aang matched his pace. They fled the room. "You need to find Yue and go," Teo whispered. "If that Fire Nation soldier finds out who you are, he'll kill you."

Aang stopped. He looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "I'm all that's left," he whispered. "There really is nothing else."

"That's why we have to keep you safe," Teo insisted. "Where's Yue?"

Aang frowned. "I promised her father I would protect her. We can't let Zhao see her; come on." Aang started running.

Teo used his strong arms to propel himself after Aang. They ran down the corridor. Teo tried to keep his mind on the task at hand. He knew that if he let himself think about his father's actions, he would lose himself in a pit of despair.

"Yue," Aang whisper-shouted. "Yue!"

"Duck!"

A blast of fire emerged from a disused corridor. Aang yelped and jumped up to evade it, while Teo reversed the direction of his wheels. Teo peeked around the corner. Yue was standing there, hands tied. An angry-looking teenager with a large scar and unflattering hairstyle stood in front of her.

"Run!" Yue tried to step around Zuko, but he planted himself in front of her.

"It's over, Avatar. Surrender."

"Yue, are you hurt," Aang asked from where he clung to the ceiling.

"No. He isn't going to hurt me. You need to leave me behind! You're too important to risk! Get out of here, Aang. Zuko won't harm me."

Zuko scowled. "I won't stop until you're in chains, Avatar. Make this easier on yourself. Surrender."

"Aang, run!"

Zuko scowled harder and turned to face Yue. Teo was afraid that he would hit her, but he didn't so much as raise a hand. "Why are you making this so difficult?!"

"I have to. It's my duty." Yue stood tall and proud. She stared into Zuko's eyes with a defiant gaze. "My father wants the Avatar to be safe."

"Well, my father wants the Avatar in chains," Zuko snapped, shouting and reddening in the face.

"Don't I get a vote," Aang asked from the ceiling.

"No!" Teo raised an impressed brow as Yue and Zuko shouted the same thing at the same time.

Aang pouted. "I think you should get a vote, Aang," Teo said. "It's your life after all."

Aang beamed at him. "Thanks, Teo!"

"Well, well, well." Teo spun his chair around and looked at the source of the voice. Zhao stood there with his arms crossed. Teo felt another horrible chill. "What do we have here?"

"Zhao." Teo glanced at Zuko. His face was twisted in disgust and anger. "Get out of here! The Avatar is my prisoner!"

"Is he? He doesn't appear imprisoned to me. Come down here, boy. Don't make this any harder than it needs to be."

"Aang, run!" Yue tried to step around Zuko again, but once more he stationed himself so that she couldn't. "Get out of here!"

Zhao threw flame at Aang, but Zuko surged forward and deflected the fire. "He is my prisoner! You will not interfere!"

Zhao sneered. "You had your chance to subdue the Avatar. You failed, just like you do at everything." Teo flinched. He didn't like this Zuko person that had tied up Yue and was trying to capture Aang, but Zhao's cruel words made Teo feel the tiniest bit bad for him.

Zuko stepped forward and planted his feet. "If you want him, then fight me for him. I challenge you to an Agni Kai! Winner takes the Avatar."

"I still think I should get a say in this," Aang said from where he continued to hang from the ceiling.

"You don't," Zuko growled. "Well, Zhao?"

Zhao laughed. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you dueled a Master? I was there, you know. I'll take great pleasure in marking the other side of your face, boy."

Teo shivered. With Zuko distracted by Zhao, he wheeled over to where Yue was still standing. Teo pulled out a knife to cut her free. "Let me see your hands."

Yue extended them. "Thank you."

Behind Teo, the two Firebenders got into fighting stances. Zhao struck first, and Zuko blocked. Aang came down from the ceiling to stand with Yue and Teo. "Should we run now," Teo asked.

Aang frowned. "I don't know. That soldier threatened to burn Zuko. I don't want to leave him behind. He might need our help."

Teo stared at Aang like he had grown a second head. "Aang, Zuko is trying to capture you," Teo reminded him. Teo knew Aang was kind and understanding, but he hadn't realized just how kind. Teo was concerned that his compassion might get him killed.

"Aang, you swore to my father that we would go to the South Pole. We need to go."

"You said yourself that Zuko was never going to hurt you," Aang said. "How can we allow someone to hurt him?"

Teo continued to watch the fight. "Actually, Zuko looks like he's doing pretty well for himself." He did. Zuko blocked each one of Zhao's strikes. He hadn't gotten in a hit of his own yet, but he was certainly managing the barrage of attacks well.

"We have to go," Yue insisted. "We have to do our duty."

Aang looked at the two dueling Firebenders, frowning. Teo reached out and squeezed his hand. "It's not your responsibility to save everybody. Sometimes you have to look out for you."

"I'm the Avatar," Aang whispered. "It is kind of my responsibility."

"Well, you can't help anyone if you're dead or captured. Run away and live to fight another day. Please, Aang, we're your friends, and we don't want you to get hurt."

Aang gave Teo a hesitant smile. "Okay."

They ran. Well, Aang and Yue ran. Teo outpaced them both in his chair, leading the way down the familiar halls. They soon came to the courtyard, where everyone was assembled and panicking.

The Mechanist ran forward, almost crying with relief. "Teo! I was so afraid. I've gathered all of our essentials. We have to go. Commander Zhao will not forgive us for harboring the Avatar."

Teo looked at his father. All his life, the sight of his father had made him feel love and gratitude. In that moment, all he felt was disdain and disappointment. "I'm not going anywhere with you. You made weapons for the Fire Nation!"

The Mechanist flinched. "I did it for you. Zhao would have destroyed this place if I hadn't cooperated with him! I wanted you to have a safe place to grow up. I did the best I could."

"It wasn't worth it," Teo insisted. "You helped them destroy other people's homes! You destroyed Aang's home to do it. I can't even look at you." Teo turned away.

"Teo, you cannot stay here. Zhao will kill us."

Aang spoke up. "You can come with us."

Teo looked at Aang, eyes wide. "Really?"

"Teo, no! It's too dangerous," the Mechanist cried out with a panicked shout.

"Even after everything my father and I did to your home, you can forgive me?" Teo stared at Aang in disbelief.

Aang took a deep breath. "I grieve for my home, but hating you won't put it back the way it was. You didn't know what your father was doing, and you were horrified once you did. You did help destroy parts of Air Nomad culture, but you didn't know that's what you were doing. If you want, I can teach you about our ways, about what this place was before you got here."

Aang reached out and touched a cracked wall, his fingers brushing over the face of a monk with a white beard. "My memories are all that remain of the Air Nomads. Would you like to help me keep those memories alive?" Aang looked at Teo with raw grief and desperation.

"Yes," Teo said without hesitation. "It would be an honor. Thank you for your forgiveness. I'll find a way to repay you for such a precious gift."

Aang shook his head. "That's not how forgiveness works. It's yours. You don't have to pay for it."

Yue placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "It's time to go," she said in a gentle, soothing tone.

Aang nodded. "C'mon!" They ran towards Appa. Teo's father called after them, but Teo ignored him.

They climbed aboard the bison. With a "yip yip" from Aang, they were airborne. Seconds later, Zuko came running out of a hall. He looked up at them and scowled. Teo wasn't sure why, but he was relieved to see that their enemy didn't have any new injuries.

Zhao emerged from the same hall. Zuko's back was to him. Zhao raised his hands as if to strike. Yue gasped. "Look out!"

Zuko turned around and blocked Zhao's strike. Teo released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Zhao started screaming. "You let the Avatar escape!"

Zhao turned to Teo's father. "And you! You harbored him! I'll raze this place to the ground!"

"No!" Zuko stepped in front of the Mechanist. "Hurting these people won't slow down the Avatar. He abandoned them. He clearly doesn't care about them. These people are the Firelord's subjects, and they won't be harmed!"

"They're Earth Kingdom!"

"The Firelord is ruler over all that the Sun touches! To say otherwise is treason!"

Teo heard a small chuckle and looked away from the scene unfolding below them. Yue was looking up at the sky, shielding her eyes. "The Sun is rising." She put her hand on Aang's shoulder again. "We really do need to go."

Aang looked down at the temple. "What about Teo's people?"

"Zuko won't let Zhao hurt them. That would be dishonorable. He is our enemy, but he is a man of honor. All the same, he will capture us if we linger."

Aang nodded. "Okay." He directed Appa away.

Teo took a deep breath and let it out. He'd had more excitement the past couple of days than in his entire life prior. Of course, that was when something decided to jump out of one of Aang's bags and land in Teo's lap. "Ah!"

"Awww. It's a flying lemur!" Aang picked up the creature and started to cuddle it against its protests.

Yue frowned. "Aang, you didn't secure your bag like I asked. That thing ate all of our food."

"I'm going to call you Momo."

Yue didn't react to being ignored. She showed no sign of irritation. She just looked back towards the temple. Teo followed her gaze. They were too far away to see what was happening, so Teo just hoped. That was all they could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews fill the author with joy. Good, bad or indifferent, lemme know what you think. How do you feel about Teo being in this version of the GAang?


	4. The Deserter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yue learns some things about herself and her destiny that she's unsure how she feels about. Meanwhile, an unexpected ally saves the GAang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really am working on my other fics, I'm just making very little progress. Sorry. *Chagrin*

**Aang**

Meat sizzled and popped on a grill lovingly tended by an old Firebender. A woman took down a paper lantern from her stall to pass to a customer in exchange for coins. Aang gasped in delight as he saw a cart selling masks. "It's just like the festivals Kuzon used to take me to!"

Aang ran up to the cart and began to examine the masks. He picked up one that was a yellow sun with a wide grin. "This one is perfect for you, Yue." He picked up a red mask comprised of flames with a somber frown. "This can be you, Teo."

"Why am I frowning?" Teo sounded hurt.

Aang rushed to explain. "Kuzon told me that the festival masks are supposed to be expressions that you don't usually make, otherwise a playful spirit might be able to fuse them to your face."

Yue glanced at the beaming sun. "Fair enough." She put the mask on.

Teo grabbed a blue mask twisted into a cruel expression of fury. "Then this one is perfect for you."

"Oh yeah, absolutely! Thanks Teo!"

Yue paid for the masks while Aang fitted his to his face. "How do I look?"

"Not like yourself," Teo assured him.

Aang grinned, not that anyone could see it. He would definitely be safe from playful spirits. "What do you want to do first? Do you want to see the glassmakers? They're amazing!"

"I'm kind of hungry," Teo admitted. He glanced at the Firebender slicing the meat into thin juicy strips and wrapping them around chunks of speared roasted fruit.

"Do you think he'd make me a vegetarian one," Aang asked.

"Let's find out!" Teo wheeled up to Aang and nudged him with his elbow before continuing over to the meat stand.

Aang was glad no one could see the blush under his mask. He was also delighted when the Firebender chef made him a kabob of roasted fruit after a brief skeptical glance.

"I'll put his meat on yours," the chef told Yue. "I admire the amount of dedication you put into your costume. It'll take a long time for your natural hair to grow back out."

Yue thanked the chef profusely. She lifted her mask to take delicate neat bites of her food. Meanwhile, Aang squirted limeapple juice all over his robes with his first bite. Teo laughed, and Aang pushed his mask back down to conceal his second blush.

"Look," Teo said. "Performers!"

Aang looked. Three Fire Nation women in tight silk costumes were dancing on the stage. A dancer in yellow and a dancer in orange used complicated acrobatics in their performance. A third dancer, dressed in red, stuck to fancy footwork and played a stringed instrument.

Three male Firebenders danced around them, tossing flames back and forth to each other. Several times a flame came close to burning a dancer, but it never did. Their milky thighs remained unblemished. Their elegant obsidian hairdos were unsinged.

"That looks dangerous," Teo said.

"I can't wait until I master firebending and learn how to do that!" Aang moved closer to the stage. The footwork of the dancers was so light. It reminded him of airbending.

The women sang a song about leaving home to go to a festival and find their true love. They wove in and out of fire as they sang. The song built to a crescendo, and two of the Firebenders locked hands and pulled each other into a kiss. At the same time, the dancers in orange and yellow fell together into an embrace. The third Firebender picked up the musician and placed her on his shoulder. She finished the last note of the song while he pressed a kiss to her ankle.

"Huh."

Aang turned to face Teo. Aang couldn't see Teo's expression under his mask, but he had sounded confused. "You didn't like it?" Aang tried and failed to conceal his disappointment.

"It's not that," Teo said. "I guess… I never realized firebending could be used for anything but violence," Teo said. "It never occurred to me that there are Firebenders that aren't soldiers. The people here are using their bending to make food and entertainment… I'm just surprised."

"This is what these festivals were always like back when Kuzon used to take me to them," Aang explained. "There's even more cool stuff too. There are glassmakers who use their firebending to create glass sculptures. There's pottery displays. Oh, and there's the aura readers!" Aang grinned, forgetting no one could see him.

"What's an aura reader," Yue asked.

Aang started to explain. "Some Firebenders learn how to read a person's spiritual energy and- shadow puppets!" Aang watched the dancers depart and a large white screen be carried onto the stage. "Oh, you'll love this!" He forgot what he'd been talking about.

A woman with dark skin and thin golden eyes stepped onto the stage and created a large bright flame in one hand. She moved her other hand to make shadows on the screen. "Once, the world was divided." She created shadows that showed segmented chunks of land. "Some had plenty, and some had nothing. Many wars were fought."

"I've never seen this show," Aang said with great excitement.

"It makes sense that some new ones would have been written over the last one hundred years," Teo whispered.

"A great man who lived in a place of bounty and peace saw a better way." She made the shadow of an imposing figure with a tall crown. "His name was Firelord Sozin. He had a vision of how the world could be saved. He saw a future where all lands were one and all people lived united."

Her fingers danced as she made dark twisted shadows. "There were those who opposed Sozin's will. The Air Assassins, creatures of malice and deceit, flew from place to place, devouring and killing. For the world to know peace, they had to be eliminated."

Aang couldn't breathe. He felt like his heart had gone still in his chest. There were voices, but Aang couldn't hear them. He felt himself being led away, and he didn't protest.

A cool hand touched his cheek. Aang blinked. Blue eyes were staring into him. "Aang? Can you hear me?"

Aang nodded. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I can't imagine what that must have felt like for you. I'm so sorry you had to experience that."

Aang surged forward and hugged her. She was stiff for a moment, but then she put her own arms around him. "Is that what people think of us? Is that how we're remembered?"

"Not in the Water Tribes," Yue said.

"Not in the unconquered parts of the Earth Kingdom," Teo added.

Aang frowned. "They didn't just kill them, they…" Aang wiped away some tears. "Sorry. I kind of ruined the festival, didn't I?"

"You didn't ruin anything," Teo said. "We wouldn't have come at all if not for you. You made this night really fun. If you want to leave now, we understand."

"It's best not to linger anyway," Yue added.

Aang nodded. "Alright. Let's get back to Appa and Momo and-"

"Oh no Avatar, you're coming with me." The three children turned around to face the source of the unfamiliar voice. A man stepped from the shadows, grinning. "I know someone you'll want to see before you leave."

**Yue**

Aang jumped to his feet. "Well, what did Jeong Jeong say?!" Aang grinned at Chang with eager anticipation.

Chang shook his head. "He won't see you."

"What?! Why not?"

Chang sighed. "He said he isn't meant to be your firebending teacher, that the spirits have other plans for you. He doesn't want to interfere."

Yue didn't frown, but she wanted to. She looked from Aang's devastated face to Chang's disappointed one. "I don't understand. What does that mean?"

Chang shrugged. "I don't know! The Master is always saying weird things like that. He says that as Firebenders, we're gifted with the ability to see a person's spirit. I've never seen anyone's spirit though."

"Master Jeong Jeong saw Aang's spirit," Teo asked. "What did it look like?"

Chang shrugged. "I don't know. I don't understand half the things he says. He said he won't speak to the Avatar." Chang looked at Yue. "He will speak to you though."

Yue stared at Chang, struggling not to reveal her shock. "Why me?"

"I'm not sure. He said that if you wanted to talk to him though, that would be okay."

Yue glanced at Aang. "Should I?"

Aang crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "It's up to you."

"Maybe you can convince him to change his mind," Teo suggested.

"Maybe," Yue said. "Alright. I'll talk to him."

Chang nodded and gestured for Yue to follow him. She took controlled measured steps as she walked through the camp. People stared at her white hair, but she ignored them. When they came to a small unassuming tent at the edge of the camp, Chang stepped aside. "The Master is within."

Yue nodded and entered. Jeong Jeong was standing inside a circle of twelve candles, each glowing a different color. Yue gasped at the beauty. Jeong Jeong bowed to her. "It is an honor to be in your presence," he said.

Yue stared. "What?" She hadn't meant to slip and reveal an emotion, but she was more confused than she had ever been in her life.

Jeong Jeong remained in a bow. Yue remembered herself and returned it. They both straightened. "Spirit of the Moon, how can I assist you?"

Yue continued to stare at the man. His hair was as white as hers, and he had blade scars on his face. He was an intimidating figure, but he looked at her with awe and reverence. "What did you call me?"

"Spirit of the Moon," Jeong Jeong said. "You are the living incarnation of the Moon Spirit and the Avatar's waterbending Master. To see you fills me with humility and joy." He didn't sound overjoyed. He sounded somber.

Yue felt like she might be sick. "There must be some mistake. I can't be anyone's waterbending Master. I'm not even a Waterbender. I'm certainly not a spirit, much less a Great Spirit."

Jeong Jeong frowned and shook his head. "The Sun Spirit gifted my people with the ability to read auras, to look within a person and see their spiritual energy. Just as Waterbenders can bend the energy within a human body, so too can we bend the energy within a human spirit. I see the Moon Spirit inside of you."

"That's impossible," Yue said. "I can't… I don't…" Yue had never lost control of herself and her words in such a way before. She felt light-headed.

"Please," Jeong Jeong said. "Sit down. You have questions."

Yue kneeled and rested back on her ankles. Jeong Jeong copied her. "The Moon Spirit chose you to carry her energy in the physical world. You and she are one."

Yue shook her head, but she did not speak. She couldn't.

"Long ago, the Sun and the Moon were in balance, but not for many years now. They have chosen human incarnations to restore harmony to the world, to find the Avatar and teach him true bending." Jeong Jeong leveled a serious look at Yue. "The Moon chose you."

Yue looked down at her hands. "When I was a baby…" Yue struggled to tell the story. She spoke of her sickness, of the Moon Spirit's mercy and kindness. She explained how her hair turned white. When she was done, she looked up.

Jeong Jeong nodded at her. "That was when she selected you to be her earthly form."

"So then… Am I still myself? Am I Yue?" Her head was spinning.

Jeong Jeong seemed taken aback by the question. "You are the Moon Spirit. You will teach the Avatar and return the world to its natural state of harmony. That is your duty. Who else do you want to be?"

Yue stared at the candles. Her eyes focused on a blue flame. It was the hottest of all, she knew somehow. She didn't look at Jeong Jeong. She didn't cry or complain, even though she wanted to. She nodded.

"I understand," she whispered. "However, I don't know how to waterbend. How can I teach the Avatar a skill I don't know?"

"You must learn. You are the Moon Spirit. You are the first Waterbender. You created the art. It will come to you as natural as breathing."

Yue knew Jeong Jeong wasn't aware of the irony of his words. She found a dark humor in him telling her waterbending would be as natural as breathing right after she had explained to him that she was born struggling to breathe. She knew that, regardless of what Jeong Jeong claimed, what came next would be a struggle. All the same, Yue was resolved to do her duty.

Yue squared her shoulders and looked at Jeong Jeong. "I have more questions."

He bowed his head. "It is my honor to serve the Moon Spirit."

"Why won't you teach Aang firebending?"

Jeong Jeong shook his head. "The Sun Spirit has already chosen the Avatar's firebending Master. It is not my place to interfere with the will of the Sun Spirit."

"Who is it," Yue asked.

Jeong Jeong frowned. "I do not know. We have never met, or I would know him. He carries the Sun Spirit inside, just as you carry the Moon. All this, I have seen in the fire."

Yue nodded. "I see… What else did the fire show you?"

Jeong Jeong squinted at Yue. "In the beginning, the Moon loved the Ocean. They pushed and pulled at one another. Such a love can be yours again, but you must not yield to her. Your duty is to the world."

Yue frowned. She didn't understand, but she filed the information away to examine later. "Anything else?"

Jeong Jeong stared at her. He glanced at the blue flame and then stared at Yue again. "Yes… Yes, I see one thing more."

"What is it?"

"It is difficult to decipher. Spiritual energy can be fluid and shifting. Sometimes it deceives unworthy eyes. Yet… The Sun Spirit has touched you. Yes, he has, and he will again. The Sun and the Moon, bound together by the Sky, destined to save each other and the world."

Yue took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Would it be alright if my friends and I stayed here for the night? We are weary from our travels, and I… I have a lot to think about."

Jeong Jeong bowed his head again. She wished he would stop doing that. "It is my honor to serve the Moon Spirit." She wished he would stop saying that.

Yue stood, bowed and then departed. She held in a sigh when she saw Aang's eager face waiting for her. "I'm sorry, Aang," she said.

His face fell. "He still won't teach me?"

Yue shook her head. "How about another healing lesson," she suggested.

Aang frowned. "Fine." He moped for a moment, but then his face lit up. "Teo, do you want to come? We can find out if you have more Sun or Moon energy!"

Teo laughed. "Sure, sounds fun."

Yue forced a smile onto her face and tried to push Jeong Jeong's words from her mind.

**Zhao**

The guardsman in front of Zhao shifted with discomfort. "That could be them. It was a festival; everyone was wearing masks."

Zhao snarled with derision. "A cripple, a bald tattooed child and a girl with  _ white hair  _ should be noticeable with or without masks! Did you see them or not?"

The guardsman swallowed hard. "I- I think so?"

The wanted poster in Zhao's hand started to smolder. "Which way did they go?"

"M-maybe towards the woods?"

Zhao leaned in close to the guardsman. "Pray to all the spirits that they did." He turned to his soldiers. "Men! We're going hunting!"

Zhao stormed off. He didn't have time to waste on incompetents, but he would clear his schedule if the idiot was sending him on a wild gooseferret chase. He headed for the forest. He scowled as his head tracker made them keep stopping to examine inconsequential leaves and markings.

In time, they came to a river that led them to an encampment. Zhao took in the sight of multiple small huts and frowned. Whoever was using this camp had been there for a long time and was a large group. Zhao didn't like the idea of the Avatar having many supporters. He needed to snuff this rebellion out.

"Burn it to the ground," Zhao ordered.

Zhao continued to follow the river. He heard the sounds of growing fires and shouts of distress behind him. The sounds were familiar and comforting. Zhao smiled.

Zhao's smile grew bigger when he got to a new section of the river. The boy in the wheelchair was playing with some sort of disgusting woodland creature with white fur. The Avatar and the girl with white hair were pressing their palms together while their hands were encased in glowing blue water.

"The heart needs a steady rhythm. If it beats too fast, the muscle will be damaged. If it beats too slow, the person can get dizzy and pass out. Different people have different normal resting heart rates. It's important to understand what homeostasis looks like in the individual before attempting to diagnose them."

Zhao laughed. He had no idea what the nonsense the girl was saying meant. He did know one thing about hearts though. Hers was about to stop.

The children looked over at Zhao and gasped. "How did you find us," the Avatar demanded.

"You stick out," Zhao said with derision. He filled his hands with flame. "Now, who's first?"

The Avatar picked up his staff. "I don't want to fight you," he said.

"Of course you don't, coward," Zhao snarled. Zhao threw flame at him and the boy deflected the fire with a blast of wind.

Zhao stepped back as his own flames rushed towards him. He dissipated them. "You're weak! Show me what the Avatar is capable of!"

"Yue, Teo, get to Appa! I'll meet up with you!"

"We can't leave you behind," the boy, Teo apparently, not that Zhao cared, said.

Aang grinned at him. "I promise I'll meet you. I've got my glider. Just get airborne."

"He's right," the girl said.

Teo frowned, but he grabbed the wheels of his chair and started to maneuver away.

Zhao threw fire at Teo, but the Avatar blocked it. Teo and Yue fled, and the Avatar covered their escape. Zhao didn't care. He had the Avatar pinned down. That was what mattered. The Avatar was tiring out from defending his friends.

Zhao grinned. "Surrender now, and I promise not to burn you too bad. I'll just give you a few scars to mark my victory."

The Avatar looked at Zhao with horror. Fear and disgust consumed his features. Zhao called his flames and prepared to strike the winning blow. Zhao felt something impact his armor with enough force to send him sprawling to the ground.

Zhao rolled over in time to see a figure standing over him. The figure was short, dressed all in black and wore a festival mask, the same one the guardsman Zhao had questioned earlier had described the Avatar as wearing. The blue face wore an expression of hate and malice. The figure raised a sword to strike Zhao.

Zhao blocked with fire. "Hey," he heard the Avatar shout. "That's my spirit mask!"

Zhao threw flame at the figure masquerading as a blue spirit, but it dodged. Zhao threw more flame, but the figure was quick. "Stand still and fight, you pathetic beetleworm!"

"Aang! Let's go!"

Zhao looked behind himself. The Avatar's companions were on his great flying beast, high above the battle. The Avatar jumped, higher than any normal man could jump. He landed on the beast with grace. Zhao threw fire, but they were gone in an instant.

Zhao whirled around to vent his rage at the figure in the blue mask, but he was gone as well. Zhao's scream of frustration ignited multiple trees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aang never burns anyone here because he never starts learning firebending. This takes place a lot earlier in his Avatar journey when he hasn't even started learning water yet and is still used to just being an Airbender. So when Jeong Jeong tells him no, he is disappointed but more accepting.


	5. Pakku of the Water Tribe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The GAang meets a Waterbending Master, but things don't go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please vote in the comments on who you think the bigger asshole is, Zhao or Pakku. I'm curious to know your thoughts.

**Teo**

Yue dried her hair with an old rag, staining the cloth black. "There, how does it look?"

Aang frowned. "You don't look like you."

"That's the point," Yue said with endless patience and no trace of frustration. Teo was starting to learn how to interpret Yue, though. It wasn't easy, but if he focused, there were small signs that could be detected. A slight curl of the fingers or extra crinkle at the corners of her eyes could allude to an unacknowledged stresser.

"It looks nice," Teo said. The way Yue avoided meeting his gaze tipped him off that he hadn't found the correct response.

"So," Aang said. "What do we do next?"

"We continue on to the South Pole as my father instructed," Yue said without hesitation.

"But Jeong Jeong said that you're supposed to be my waterbending Master, not someone from the South Pole," Aang protested.

"Jeong Jeong said many things," Yue said. "He may not side with the Fire Nation, but that doesn't make him all-knowing. We are honor-bound to complete the mission my father gave us."

Aang frowned. "Your dad didn't have all of the information when he gave us that mission. I'm sure he would understand if-"

"Do not presume to speak for my father," Yue said in a firm voice stripped of all inflection. "He is the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. It is not our place to question his wisdom."

Teo tried to intercede before a fight broke out. "I don't think Aang was trying to say your father is wrong. I think he just meant that if your father knew you were the Moon Spirit-"

"I'm not-!" Yue stopped herself and took a deep breath. "I apologize. I should not have lost my temper. My behavior is unbefitting a princess."

"That's okay," Aang said. "We're your friends. You don't have to be a perfect princess around us."

Yue wouldn't look at either of them, so Teo figured that hadn't been the right response either. "I don't understand," he said. "What are you so afraid of?"

"You're right," Yue whispered. "You don't understand. My people have lost so much to the war. Our traditions are all we have left. As a princess, it's my responsibility to maintain our traditions, to give our people hope for the future. How can I do that if I defy one of our sacred laws?"

Teo didn't have an answer for her, and apparently neither did Aang. All three of them were silent as they sat around the campfire. Teo looked at Yue's new black hair and wondered if it was about more than just being less conspicuous. He wondered if she was trying to reject the Moon Spirit inside her.

Teo frowned. In the distance, he could make out the outline of a figure. "Guys," he whispered. "Someone is coming."

The figure drew closer. "Who's there," the figure demanded. "How did you get here? What do you want?" A man stepped out of the shadows. His hair was white like Yue's had been, but from age instead of spirit interference.

Aang stood up. "Sorry if we disturbed you. Was this your campsite?"

"This island is supposed to be impossible to get to. The sharp rocks and harsh currents will destroy any ship that tries to dock."

"Well, we didn't come on a ship," Aang said.

Teo frowned. "How did you get here then?"

The old man scowled at Teo. He reached out and pulled a stream of water from the sea. Droplets sprayed them as the water made its way to the old man. He directed the water to swirl around him a few times before sending it back to the sea. "Does that answer your question?"

"You're a Waterbender!" Aang jumped up with delight. "This is amazing! Yue, he can teach you!"

The old man scoffed. "What a ridiculous idea. Now, tell me who you are. Tell me how you got to this island."

Aang pointed towards where Appa was sleeping, his white fur blending into the fog. "We flew," he answered the last question.

Yue stood up. "I am Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe. This is Teo of the Earth Kingdom and Aang of the Northern Air Temple. He is the Avatar, and you will teach him waterbending," she answered the first.

There was a long silence after the pronouncement. The crackling fire and rolling waves were the only sounds. Teo cleared his throat. "Please?" He gave the Waterbender a hesitant smile.

"Very well, Princess. Of course I will teach the Avatar," the Waterbender said.

"But-" Aang started to say.

"Thank you," Yue said. "What is your name?"

The Waterbender frowned. "I am Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe." He stated his name with no pleasure.

"Nice to meet you," Aang said.

Pakku frowned at Aang.

"How did you end up here," Teo asked.

Pakku frowned at Teo.

"Would you mind showing us to your camp," Yue asked in a demure tone.

Pakku nodded and grunted his assent. He frowned all the while of course. "Follow me."

Teo sighed as he pushed his wheels through the sand. He missed stone. Stone was so much easier to traverse. They followed their strange new ally to his camp.

Upon arriving and seeing a well-constructed lean-to and an oft-used fire pit, Teo frowned. The campsite looked almost too permanent to be called a camp. All the same, it didn't quite have the look of a home either. Teo couldn't quite put his finger on why that discomfitted him.

Pakku scowled at all of them again, even though none of them had spoken yet. "Moonrise is in a few hours. Lessons will begin then." Pakku pushed aside the fur blocking the entrance to the lean-to and disappeared inside. It could not have been more obvious that none of them were invited to join him.

"Wow, this is so cool. What are the odds that we would find a Waterbender out here in the middle of nowhere?" Aang bounced on his heels.

Teo frowned. "Yeah… What are the odds?" He looked at Yue. "I thought you said that the Fire Nation took all of your Waterbenders away?"

Yue nodded, face impassive.

"So how did he end up here?"

"An excellent question," Yue admitted.

The sky began to grow dark.

**Yue**

Yue made sure that she was far, far away from Pakku's camp. Aang tried to argue with her some more about what Jeong Jeong had said, but Yue silenced him with a look. When she left the camp, neither Aang nor Teo tried to stop her. She followed the river until she came to a patch of clear sky. Yue sat on the bank and waited. Patience had always been one of her virtues.

Yue closed her eyes and thought about the day she had found Aang. Her father had told her he'd found a husband for her. Yue, of course, did not need to have an opinion on him. Yue had nodded and thanked her father. Not a trace of the rage or pain storming inside of her had shown on her face, in her movements or in her voice.

She had gone to the same icefield she always went to. It had been as empty as it always was. The broken chunks of glacier from previous visits hadn't moved. Sometimes she found that comforting, other times haunting. She picked a random glacier, and she let her emotions free. She let them flow from her heart, through her limbs and into the ice.

The iceberg shattered. Inside was a boy. Yue hadn't been expecting that. Yue opened her eyes.

Yue stared at the water, at her blue eyes reflecting back at her. She almost didn't recognize herself with black hair. "Who are you," she whispered. "Are you a princess, or are you a spirit?"

The still water didn't answer her. She was surrounded by silence. A salamandercricket ran through the underbrush, playing its song. No wisdom presented itself to her.

"Are you Yue? Who is Yue?"

There was still no answer. Still, it felt good to have the questions spoken aloud. Yue never let herself speak her mind. The freedom was heady like festival wine.

"Does Yue even matter? I have a duty to my people. What I want is irrelevant. Even if I wanted to learn waterbending and teach the Avatar… I can't."

Yue frowned at her reflection. She kept telling herself that her desires didn't matter. In that moment, she realized she didn't even know what her desires were. She didn't know if she wanted to learn waterbending. She put her hand into the water and exhaled. The surface froze, hiding her reflection.

The ice was unreadable. It was hard and blank. Yue smiled at it. She knew the ice well. She exhaled again and let the freeze spread.

"What do you think you are doing?!"

Yue shot to her feet. She turned around to see Pakku standing a short distance away, trembling with rage. Aang stood behind him, his expression oscillating between delighted and fearful. "Master Pa-"

"Who gave you permission to do this?! You are a woman! You have no right to engage with the sacred art the Moon Spirit reserved for men! Is this what has become of the Northern Water Tribe in my absence?!"

Yue stared at him. His expression was ugly with anger. She felt the ice behind her develop a crack. "I have been wondering about that absence," Yue whispered.

"What," Pakku growled.

"Our tribe has suffered greatly at the hands of the Fire Nation. You are a waterbending Master. You have a duty to our people, to protect us. Where have you been?" The crack deepened.

"By what right does a woman question me," Pakku all but hissed.

"I am your princess," Yue said, her voice retaining its softness and low volume. Behind her, the crack spread into several cracks. "You will speak to me with respect."

Pakku scowled. "You are not behaving like a princess. Waterbending is not for you to know! A proper princess would not play around with things beyond her understanding."

The cracks grew wider and deeper. "Master Pakku, why did you abandon our tribe when we needed you?" Yue noticed that Aang's face fell, an expression of guilt overtaking him. She didn't understand why.

"I didn't abandon my tribe," Pakku said. "You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe I won't," Yue agreed. "All the same, your princess requires you to answer her. You must account for why you weren't there to protect our people."

Pakku looked away. "I had to leave, for my honor."

Yue frowned. "Explain."

"When I was a young man, my father arranged a marriage for me to a beautiful young woman. We met for the first time on our wedding day, and I was beyond grateful to my father. She was a vision of loveliness." Yue thought of the man her father had chosen for her. She wouldn't be able to meet him until her wedding day either. The ice cracked further.

"We had been married for a few weeks when one day she disappeared. I searched the whole tribe for her. She is my wife; I'm responsible for her. If I can't keep my own wife under control, then I have no honor." Yue shuddered.

"Finally one of her friends confessed that she had run away to the Southern Water Tribe. So, I made the long journey south." Yue thought about her own journey south. She wondered if Pakku's bride had felt what she had been feeling of late.

"When I arrived at our sister tribe, at first I was welcomed. The journey had lasted over half a year, and I was weary. The southerners feasted me, thinking I had come to share stories of the North. When I told them why I had come, my welcome disappeared." Pakku's lips puckered like he was sucking on a kiwilemon.

"My bride had married again in the south, an unrecoverable blow against my honor. I had to take her home and punish her. The Southern Water Tribe's chief told me that they didn't recognize my marriage, as it had been an arranged marriage. They said I had no right to take Kanna home unless she wanted to go with me." Pakku took a deep breath.

"I went to Kanna's home to speak with her. Her false wife answered and told me that Kanna could not receive visitors. She said that Kanna had just given birth and was tired. I knew the child was mine and demanded access to them both. Hama insisted that the child was hers and I had no right to him or his mother."

Pakku stared into the distance. His anger was tainted by grief. Yue almost felt bad for him, but then she thought about this woman, this Kanna. Yue imagined how Kanna must have felt on her journey south, pregnant and scared. Her sympathy for Pakku evaporated.

"I fought the woman. She used waterbending against me. She used dark, profane, feminine arts to cheat in our duel. I was dishonored. Not only had I fought a woman, but I had lost. I could never return home."

Yue stared at Pakku. "You were ashamed," she realized. "For decades, you have hidden here, just because… Just because you were embarrassed?!" The ice shattered. Chunks flew everywhere, but they didn't hit anyone.

"I couldn't return home without my wife. I'd been dishonored. I-"

"Our tribe needed you! You cared more about your pride than your fellow Tribesmen!"

Pakku scowled. "This is why woman are forbidden to learn waterbending! You are all too emotional! My honor-"

"You don't have any honor! You hunted down a scared young woman who just wanted to be free! You tried to bully and terrorize her into becoming your victim again! Then you abandoned the people who needed you just because you were embarrassed about being defeated by a woman! You have shamed our tribe!"

"No, Kanna shamed our tribe! As her husband, I was responsible for correcting her. If I had brought her back, my honor would have been restored, but that witch, Hama-"

Yue gasped. Several things clicked into place. "For decades, the Southern Tribe helped us in the war against the Fire Nation. My father said they abandoned us years ago. It was because of you! They didn't turn away from us because of cowardice; they did it because of your monstrous behavior!"

Pakku clenched his fists. "They had no right to keep my own wife and child from me. The witch was the monster, not me!"

Yue looked at the melting chunks of ice all around them. "Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe, you have shamed our people. Worse, you have caused us pain and suffering that cannot be undone. Your current ostracization is self-imposed, but allow me to formalize it. From this day forward, you are banished from the Northern Water Tribe. Your banishment will extend until your death, unless you redeem yourself by apologizing to the women who you hurt so grievously."

Pakku's dark complexion reddened. "I will never apologize to them. They are the ones who dishonored me! I am owed the apology!"

Yue shook her head. She turned to Aang. "Aang, I'm sorry. You were right. Master Pakku isn't going to teach you waterbending."

Aang had been watching the whole exchange with wide eyes and a troubled expression. He gave Yue a tentative smile. "Because you're going to teach me?"

Yue nodded.

Aang grinned. "Yes!"

Pakku scowled. "Your disgusting behavior will anger the spirits! They will punish our people for your disgraceful display!"

Yue ignored Pakku. He wasn't worth her time. "Let's find Teo and go, Aang. This island has nothing to offer us."

"Oka-"

"Aang! Yue!" Aang jumped with surprise, but Yue kept her composure. They watched Teo wheel up onto the bank. "There's a Fire Nation ship anchored nearby!"

Pakku shook his head. "They won't be able to get here. The tides make it impossible to dock on this island."

Yue frowned. She was pretty sure she knew whose ship Teo had spotted. Yue had a feeling that Zuko would find a way. She took a deep breath and then released it.

**Zuko**

Zuko lowered the telescope and scowled. "The bison is there. They're on the island, Uncle."

Zuko turned around and made his scowl more severe. Iroh was working his way through a bowl of noodles. Iroh picked up a small frogshrimp with his chopsticks, the tiny long legs dangling from the utensil. He twirled some noodles around the creature and put the food in his mouth.

"Uncle! Are you listening?"

Iroh nodded, but didn't give a verbal reply. Zuko was grateful. He had no desire to see his uncle's half-chewed mouthful of food.

"We need to get onto that island!"

"Sir," Lieutenant Jee said. Zuko has grown to hate the sound of that man's voice over the last three years. He was always saying things Zuko didn't want to hear.

"What?!"

"I've consulted the tidal charts. There's no way for a ship of this size to safely approach the island."

"Then find a way!"

Iroh swallowed his food. "As surely as the mantafox will outpace its pursuer, the tides cannot be defied. Yet, with patience, both can be outwaited. For it is not in the nature of a mantafox to be still."

Zuko growled. "We don't have time for proverbs, Uncle!" Zuko looked over the side of the ship at the choppy water. He didn't like it, but he knew Jee was right. Trying to bring the ship to shore would only get them killed.

"The Avatar can't stay on that island forever," Zuko declared. "Ready the catapults. When he tries to fly away, we'll shoot him out of the sky." Zuko tried not to think about the Northern Princess or the Avatar's captive from the Northern Air Temple.

"What a clever stratagem, Nephew," Iroh said. "This ship is lucky to have such a wise and thoughtful commander."

Zuko scowled again. "Let me know when you see movement." He stormed off.

Zuko went to his room. He grabbed the blue spirit mask from its careful hiding spot under his mattress. He ran his fingers over the carved wood, feeling deep shame and anger. He'd done what he had to do, and he would do it again.

When he'd found the Avatar's camp, Zhao had already been there. Zuko would never have been able to capture the Avatar and get him back to the ship without Zhao interfering. His only option had been to help the Avatar escape so that Zuko could capture him another day. Zuko's stomach knotted with guilt as he remembered finding the mask in the Avatar's hut and putting it on.

Zuko knew he should burn the mask and destroy all evidence of his transgression, but he couldn't bear to do it. Soon, it wouldn't matter. The Avatar was trapped, and he wouldn't be able to escape again. Zuko took a deep breath and exhaled steam. He was going home.

**Pakku**

The ship wasn't moving. "They're waiting for us," the princess without propriety said.

The boy in the wheelchair squinted. "Those catapults have a long range. Even if we left from the other side of the island, we'd still be in their line of fire. This island is too small to provide enough distance."

"Maybe we can sneak away in the middle of the night," the Avatar suggested.

"The moon is almost full," the princess said. "They'll see us."

"What are we going to do," the Avatar complained.

Pakku scoffed at them. "You're going to get captured and dragged off to the Fire Nation to be tortured for the rest of your lives, obviously."

The boy in the wheelchair glared at him. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

"Aren't you a bold seallion pup," Pakku mocked.

"Ignore him," the princess said without a hint of emotion in her voice. "We must focus on our plan."

"We could try to destroy the catapult," the boy in the wheelchair suggested. "We could build our own catapult and use it to destroy the first one!"

"Oh, yeah!" The Avatar looked excited. "That sounds fun!"

Pakku scoffed and rolled his eyes. He stormed off back to his camp. He didn't want to hear anymore of their childish daydreams. He didn't want anything more to do with them at all.

Pakku went into his tent and picked up his carving knife. He wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. He just wanted to move his hands. He wished those stupid children had never showed up to trouble him.

"Who does she think she is," he muttered to himself. Pakku flinched. He knew who she was. She was his princess. He sighed.

Pakku looked down at the wood in his hands. It was a splintered mess. Pakku threw the wood and the knife on the ground in disgust. He was beyond angry. That child, that girl, had accused him of being selfish.

Pakku got to his feet. He would show her. He would show them all. He stormed back to the shore, where the children were still discussing their ridiculous ideas.

"Pack your beast and get ready to fly away," Pakku ordered.

The princess looked at him, blue eyes deep and comprehending. "What are you going to do," she whispered.

"I'm going to attack that ship," Pakku said.

"You can't take on the whole ship," the boy in the wheelchair shouted. "They'll kill you!"

"I didn't ask for your opinion! Nor would I ever, as your thoughts are irrelevant to me. I am a Master Waterbender of the Northern Water Tribe. I have a duty to protect my princess, regardless of what either of us thinks of the other."

The girl stared at him for seconds that felt like hours. She nodded. "Aang, start packing Appa."

"But-"

"We need to hurry. Teo, you help him."

Teo took Aang's hand and started to tug the other boy away. Aang flushed red, and Pakku rolled his eyes again. His disdain for the children was endless. Aang left with Teo.

"Thank you," Yue said.

"I'm only doing my duty, something you wouldn't understand," Pakku snapped.

Yue bowed her head. "Of course, Master Pakku. Good luck."

He turned away from her. There was nothing left to say. Once the children had climbed aboard their bison, Pakku raised his hands and summoned a wave to carry him to the enemy ship. He said a brief prayer to the Moon and the Ocean that his spirit would have an easy journey to his next life.

The fight wasn't long, but it was long enough to ensure the children's escape. Pakku threw ice at the deck of the ship, and the Firebenders on board threw fire at him. Pakku was outnumbered, and soon all of his energy was going into deflecting each flame with a pillar of water. One blast of great power destroyed the wave holding him up, and Pakku fell into the sea.

Pakku was exhausted, and he knew the fight was over. He didn't see the point in continuing to struggle. He felt himself be pulled below the waves, and he let it happen. Pakku felt displacement in the water. Something encircled his waist.

Pakku was pulled above the surface of the water. A teenager was holding onto him. Pakku scowled. He hated teenagers. Someone on the ship threw a floatation device at them, and the teenager grabbed it.

Pakku was soon dragged onto the deck. A short old man looked down at him. Pakku growled at him. "You couldn't just let me drown? What, are you going to torture me now?"

"It's against maritime law to let someone drown," the teenager said. He stood up and pushed the tips of his fingers together. Steam rose from him as the water in his clothes evaporated.

Pakku looked at the sky. The children were gone. He'd done his duty. "So now you take me to your accursed prison for Waterbenders? I'd rather you slit my throat now."

"We don't have time to take you anywhere," the teenager snapped. "Lieutenant! Plot a course! Follow the bison!" The teenager stomped off. Pakku rolled his eyes.

The old man chuckled. "We can't take you to prison," he agreed. "We'll have to hold you here, on our ship. Our prison cell is, alas, reserved for the Avatar, but I hope you will find our spare quarters suitable. It's where I keep my extra Pai Sho table. Do you play Pai Sho?"

Pakku crossed his arms over his chest. "What sort of madness is this? Pai Sho? You're not going to torture me for information about the Avatar?"

The old man shrugged. "People will say anything when they're being tortured. Little of it proves to be useful. Pai Sho is much better. Come, we'll get you some dry clothes. We don't have anything blue, but I'm sure we can find something for you."

Pakku hated the world and everyone in it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Complaints? Theories? Other? Please put below.


	6. The Fortune-teller

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek into the GAang's future in this verse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It worked! I managed to finish this chapter. Now, I just need to carry that energy forward to my other fics.

**Aang**

"This is so exciting! We're going to learn about our futures!" Aang danced through the door into Aunt Wu's receiving room.

"Aang," Teo said with a chuckle. "You know fortune-telling isn't real, right? It's just a fun game. No one can really see the future."

"How do you know? Monk Gyatso always said that it was impossible to prove something doesn't exist." Aang grinned. He didn't care if fortune-telling was real or not in all honesty. He just wanted to relax and enjoy himself for a little bit. "It could be real."

"There's no scientific reason why it would be real, though," Teo said.

Aang shrugged. "Well, we'll find out."

A girl walked into the room. "Hi! I'm Ming!" She grinned at Aang. "Do you want some snacks?"

"Oh, sure?" Aang smiled at her.

"Great!" She scampered away.

Teo chuckled. "I think she likes you."

Aang grinned. "I'm very likable. I try to be nice to everyone, and people appreciate that."

Teo laughed again, and even Yue allowed a small smile to grace her mouth. Ming returned with the snacks and laid them all out in front of Aang.

"Gee, thanks!"

An older woman walked into the receiving room. "So, who's first?"

Aang looked up to respond, but his mouth was full of food. "Go ahead, Teo," Yue said. "I can wait."

"Alright," Teo said with a shrug. He maneuvered his chair forward and followed Aunt Wu through the door.

Aang forced himself to swallow the half-chewed food. He watched Teo disappear down the hall. "What do you think they're talking about," Aang asked Yue.

Yue shrugged. "I'm not sure."

Aang clasped his hands together and began to thumb wrestle himself. He won, but he also lost. "Do you think it's something good?"

"I'm not sure," Yue answered.

"Do you think it's something bad?"

"I couldn't say," Yue said, showing no sign of irritation.

Aang shot to his feet. "I'm going to go to the bathroom."

"Okay." Yue gave him a pleasant smile.

Aang crept up to the door that Aunt Wu and Teo were behind. Aang remembered the eavesdropping trick Monk Gyatso had taught him. He created a funnel of air to amplify the sound coming through the door. Aang smiled at the memory of eavesdropping on the other monks with Gyatso.

There was a loud slamming and cracking sound. Aang jumped back, heart racing. He was about to burst through the door to save Teo, when he heard Teo's excited exclamation. "That's amazing! You're an Earthbender!"

"Of course," Aunt Wu said. "All fortune-tellers are Earthbenders. The Earth holds the pattern of everything that has been and will be. We can feel these fault lines and bring them to the surface."

"Uh-huh." Teo sounded skeptical.

"You don't believe me?"

"It's not that I disbelieve you. It's just, there's no scientific evidence that fortune-telling is real."

"Hmmm. I see here that you are concerned about your father. You're afraid for him, but you are also angry at him."

"A lot of boys get angry at their fathers, especially at my age. There's a war going on, so I have plenty of reason to be afraid for him. That could just be a guess."

"You are afraid that you'll never see him again, but you also aren't sure if you even want to."

"That's all the past, not the future," Teo said.

"The past and the future are not separate," Aunt Wu lectured him. "The past was once the future, and the future will become the past. Events may feel like they are far apart because we were older or younger when they will happen, but all of time is a part of one story. Separation is an allusion."

"Uh-huuuuuuh."

Aunt Wu sighed. "You will see your father again. It will be the last time you ever see him. It will be your only chance to tell him how you feel."

"You can't know that." Teo's voice trembled as he replied. Aang could imagine the expression of fear and uncertainty on Teo's face. Aang wanted to run in and comfort him, but he didn't wish to reveal himself.

"Perhaps you wish to know something happier? I see here that you will have many, many children, though none will be of your body. That's nice, isn't it?"

"I guess." Teo didn't sound too happy.

"I can never give more than three predictions. That is the rule. Often, the third prediction will change a person's perception of themselves or someone very close to them. I always give this warning. Do you want your third prediction?"

There was a long pause. "Sure."

"The thing you most desire is yours, but the world will make you fight to keep it. Your hands will have to spill blood, or they will be bound together. You will have to choose between allowing yourself and people you love to be hurt and causing pain to others. You will have to make this choice, because the people who love you will not be able to."

There was a long, long pause. "I see."

"Now, would you be so good as to fetch your friend from behind the door?"

Aang squeaked and scrambled backwards. Teo opened the door, and Aang was caught staring at him with wide eyes. Teo gave him an amused smile.

"I wasn't listening in!"

"It's okay, Aang," Teo assured him. "I told you fortune-telling is just a silly game. I don't care that you heard my fortune. I don't believe it."

"Oh, okay." Aang wasn't sure he believed Teo. Teo looked unsettled. "Ummm… Do you want to talk about that stuff she said about your dad?"

Teo flinched. "Maybe later." Teo wheeled out of the room. "Go in. Have fun."

Aang gave Teo one last parting look before going inside. Aunt Wu gestured Aang over to the table she was sitting in front of. The stone slab was covered in cracks. When she placed her palm on top of it, the stone reformed and turned smooth once more.

Aang sat down cross-legged in front of Wu's table. She was seated on her ankles, the way Yue often did. Aang remembered, in his youth, seeing people in the Fire Nation sit like that all the time. It always looked so uncomfortable to him.

Aunt Wu held out her hand. "Give me your hand," she said in a firm, but not unkind, voice.

Aang placed his hand in hers. She placed her other hand on top, encasing his. She lifted their hand dumpling high up in the air and then slammed it down on the table. Aang yelped, but just from surprise. He was uninjured.

There was a loud cracking sound as the table formed rivets and cracks. Aang blinked at them and realized that they were his future. He stared at the cracks, but he couldn't understand them. "What does it say?"

"You are an Earthbender," Wu said. "I could teach you to read them for yourself if you had the time or inclination. Alas, this is a skill that you will never learn. You will learn a style of earthbending only one other person in the world knows, from the person who invented it."

"Hey, that sounds cool!" Aang grinned at her.

Wu gave him a gentle smile in return. "You have a difficult journey ahead of you, one that will batter your gentle spirit as a hurricane does to a delicate flower, but you have strong roots. You must remember who you are, little Airbender. You alone can keep the culture of your people alive."

Aang flinched. "I miss them. I'm struggling to remember everything. Every day, I worry I'm forgetting things. Teo said that I could teach him stuff. I hope that will help me remember."

"It will," Aunt Wu said. "It is not enough to just remember, though. You cannot remember being an Air Nomad, Aang. You must be an Air Nomad, always. The world will try to force you to be something else, but you cannot submit. Do you understand?"

Aang frowned at the seriousness of Aunt Wu's words and tone. The burden on his shoulders was already so heavy. He felt like things just kept piling on. "Okay," he whispered.

"You heard the warning I gave your friend?"

Aang nodded, blushing pink.

"Do you want your third prediction?"

Aang bit his lip. He wasn't sure if he did. He didn't want a prediction that would make him feel bad about himself or his friends. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to bear the curiosity. He nodded.

Aunt Wu squeezed his hand tight. "Aang, you must defeat the Firelord by the end of summer, or the whole world will be consumed in a fire that no one will survive." She stared deep into his eyes, face as hard and still as stone.

Aang snatched his hand away and fled the room. Teo and Yue were still in the receiving room, eating snacks. Teo looked at Aang and smiled. "How did it go?"

Aang forced himself to laugh. "You were right, Teo. Fortune-telling is totally fake."

**Iroh**

Iroh loved his Pai Sho set. Each tile had been carved and painted with love and care by a skilled artisan. The set had been a gift from his son, and it was Iroh's most treasured possession. Iroh didn't let anyone but himself touch that set.

Pakku picked up a tile from Iroh's spare Pai Sho set, the one he used to actually play the game, and threw it across the room. "You're a cheat," Pakku declared. "All of your people are dishonorable cheaters. That's the only reason you're winning the war."

Iroh shrugged. "As you say, my friend."

"I'm not your friend."

"My guest," Iroh offered.

"I'm not your guest!"

"Well, what would you like to be?"

"I'm your prisoner!"

Iroh raised a brow. "You would like to be a prisoner?"

"No, but I am!" Pakku folded his arms over his chest and sneered at Iroh. Iroh resisted the urge to rub at the rising sinus headache he was developing. He didn't want to give Pakku the satisfaction of knowing how irritating he was being.

Iroh shrugged. "True, your stay here is… mandatory," Iroh admitted. "Still, you should try to make the best of your situation. You are much better off than all of the other waterbending prisoners in Fire Nation custody."

Pakku froze. He looked into Iroh's eyes. "Tell me what happened to my brothers in my absence," Pakku ordered. His voice was as hard and cold as ice.

Iroh nodded in acquiescence. "It is not a charming tale. I warn you, you may have a strong emotional reaction to-"

"Just tell me!"

Iroh took a deep breath and began to speak. He spared no detail. Iroh explained the prisons for Waterbenders. He explained the unbearable heat, the heavy chains, the dehydration and the constant verbal and physical abuse. The two men stared into each other's eyes the whole time.

When Iroh finished his tale, he saw Pakku's hands, which had been lying flat on the Pai Sho board throughout the story, curl into fists. Iroh made no attempt to block the punch. It wasn't the heaviest blow Iroh had ever taken. Pakku was a Waterbender and didn't have much experience in hand to hand. Still, Iroh fell out of his chair.

"Monster," Pakku hissed. "You are all monsters."

Iroh sat up. "Yes," he admitted. "What we did was monstrous, but to say that we are monsters is too easy. A monster cannot help but be a monster, and it is not by choice that it behaves as such, for that is but its nature. Man, when we choose to be so, do so by just that, choice. I am sorry for what we did to your people."

Pakku stared at Iroh with fury and confusion. "Do you think pretty words can erase the suffering my people have endured and continue to experience? My culture has suffered irreparable damage! Your apology is meaningless."

Iroh nodded. "You have every right to say so." Iroh reached over and picked up the tile that Pakku had thrown earlier. It was the white lotus tile, one of Iroh's favorite pieces.

Iroh got to his feet. "Yet, consider this, Master Pakku. This war has caused incalculable suffering for the people of the world. As it continues, it is the youth who will suffer more than anyone. We can continue to harbor our resentments, or…"

Iroh placed the piece on the board. "We can try to become better men. We can try to make the world a better place, not for ourselves, but for the next generation. Perhaps, in doing so, we might even find peace for ourselves."

Pakku began to laugh. His laughter had a manic hint to it, and Iroh frowned. Pakku grabbed Iroh's Pai Sho board and shoved it forward, sending the pieces flying. "You must think me an absolute fool," Pakku said. "Are you trying to convince me that you're a Water Tribe sympathizer?"

Iroh sighed as he looked at the mess on the ground. It was alright. It wasn't his prized set. "I'm simply trying to help you see that there is a path to peace. We don't have to be enemies."

Pakku snickered. "We will always be enemies," he assured Iroh. "I promise you that."

Iroh sighed. He got to his hands and knees and started picking up pieces. Pakku sat still and didn't help. Iroh reset the board. "Another game," Iroh suggested.

Pakku scowled. "I hate you."

"I live on a small boat with my teenage nephew. I hear that quite often and am immune to it. Another game?"

Pakku flipped over the board again.

**Yue**

Yue didn't flinch when Aunt Wu grabbed her hand and then slammed their hands into the table. She knew that if the process were painful, Aang and Teo would have warned her. The cracks in the table were deep, but narrow. Some of them were almost impossible to see.

"Ah," Aunt Wu said. "I see." She bowed her head. "I am in the presence of a Great Spirit."

Yue looked away. "I…" She didn't know what to say. "I had hoped…"

"That there was a mistake?" Wu's voice was gentle, kind. Yue knew that kind words concealed horrible meanings. She'd heard Yagoda give enough terminal diagnoses to never forget that knowledge.

"It was a foolish hope," Yue said.

"You are not a fool, Great Sp-"

"Yue," Yue begged. "Please just let me be-" She stilled her tongue. "I'm so sorry. I should not have interrupted you. Please, forgive me."

The fortune-teller shook her head. "You are a Great Spirit. The Moon will rise when it will rise. If her light interrupts the sleep of a mortal, who are we to complain?"

Yue didn't like that comparison. She didn't like it at all.

"You did not come here to listen to me prattle on. You came to hear your fortune," Wu said. "Very well. Let us see."

Yue looked at the table. The lines meant nothing to her. She glanced at Wu for interpretation.

"There is a man."

Yue held in a reaction of exasperation or distaste. She might want to screw her face in an expression of disgust. She might want to roll her eyes. She was, however, too well-mannered.

"His life is intertwined with yours in several ways. Although he has given you cause for distress, you will come to have some measure of respect for him. You will hope that, when the time comes, he will make the right decision." Wu looked into Yue's eyes, face serious. "He will disappoint you."

"Oh," Yue said. She was used to men disappointing her. She didn't allow the prediction to upset her. "Alright."

Wu looked back at the table. "Ahhh. Of course. You are a Great Spirit, but you are a young woman still. You wish to hear of love, perhaps?"

Yue, once again, resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I doubt there is much to say on the topic," she stated in a mild tone instead.

"What of the Ocean," Wu asked.

Yue remembered Jeong Jeong's words. "Master Jeong Jeong said that I cannot yield to that love. He said my duty is to the world."

Wu rolled her eyes. "Who is he to say such a thing? Firebenders cannot see the future. All they can see is a person's spirit."

"Then how did he know about her," Yue asked.

"Because the Moon and the Ocean have been intertwined for so long, that you carry pieces of each other's spirits," Wu explained. "Do not choose fire over water, Great Spirit. The Sun cannot love you the way that the Ocean can. Trust me."

Yue quelled the urge to frown. She had no idea what Aunt Wu was talking about. "Alright," she once again said in a mild tone.

"Now, for your last prediction, I must…" Aunt Wu's voice trailed off. She stared at the table. "No, that can't be right…" She put her finger on a crack and traced it. Her hands started to shake.

"Aunt Wu?"

"I-" Wu cleared her throat. "I see…" She looked at Yue. Her face was pale.

"What's the matter," Yue asked, presenting a calm facade that she in no way felt.

"The sky will go black," Wu whispered. "It may go black once. It may go black twice. Yet, if it goes black a third time, such will herald the end of all things. Life will cease to be."

"Oh," Yue whispered. Her mouth felt dry. "Alright," she managed to say.

**Teo**

"Teo! Teo!" Teo turned his chair around and saw Aang race towards him.

"Hey, Aang, what's up?"

"I climbed to the top of the volcano to pick some flowers for you!"

Teo smiled. "Aang, that's so sw-"

"And when I was up there I saw that the volcano is going to erupt!"

Teo's smile disappeared. "Oh. That's… bad."

"We have to do something!"

Teo took a deep breath and started thinking. "Okay, well the first thing is not to panic. We should organize an orderly evacuation of the village. Have everyone collect their most essential possessions and head for the coast. Make sure there's enough carts and wagons to transport the sick and elderly."

Aang sighed with relief. "You're so smart Teo. I don't know what we would do without-"

Teo couldn't hear the rest of what Aang was going to say, because at that moment, the volcano gave a mighty roar and belched black smoke into the sky. "That's not good," Teo mumbled.

"Can I panic now?!"

Teo flinched. He looked at Aang. It wasn't fair that Aang had so much responsibility resting on his shoulders. Still, Teo knew better than most that life wasn't fair. "No. You're the Avatar, and you're our only chance of surviving this."

"I don't know what to do!"

"Go get Aunt Wu."

Aang nodded, smiling with relief. "Oh, right! She can look into my future and tell me-"

"No, Aang! You can't rely on a fortune-teller to figure things out for you! Tell her that she and all the other Earthbenders need to create a trench around the village to divert lava. Then find Yue and have her pull water up through the wells to put out any fires. You need to use your airbending to keep the toxic smoke away from the village."

"I'm so glad you're so smart, T-"

"Aang, go!"

"Right! Going!" Aang ran off, faster than any normal person would ever be able to.

Teo looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath and then started coughing. Maybe deep breaths weren't such a good idea. He wheeled down the street and began yelling at everyone to get inside and stay inside. If he was going to die, he was going to die helping people.

Teo thought about Aunt Wu's promise that he would see his father again. He didn't believe in fortune-telling, but he hoped that she was right. He didn't want to die without having a chance to hash things out with his father.

The volcano erupted. At first, it looked like things were over for all of them. Then, Teo saw Aang go up into the air, glowing blue. He bent the lave upward and hardened it, turning it into a stone wall.

Aang threw his hands out, and the volcano stilled, as if its inner fire had been extinguished. Aang's blue glow dimmed, and he floated back down to the ground. Teo wheeled over to him as fast as he could. Aang leaned against the wall he had just created.

"Aang! Are you alright?" Teo grabbed Aang's wrist and began to feel for his pulse.

Aang smiled at Teo. "Hey, you're holding my hand."

Teo blushed. "Are you okay?"

Aang nodded. "I did it."

Teo beamed at him. "You sure did. I'm proud of you."

Aang looked thrilled by this news. They were still holding hands when Yue found them sometime later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews water my crops, clear my skin and I forget how the rest of the saying goes, but you get the idea.


	7. The Blue Spirit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody makes any new friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a doctor; I don't know anything about medicine. Also, this is a fantasy world with healing magic.

**Yue**

Yue coughed. She looked at her silk handkerchief and frowned. A red-black residue stained the blue threads. She didn't need to be a healer to know that red-black residue wasn't supposed to come out of people's lungs.

All the same, she was a healer. She coated her hands in water and placed them against her chest. She found the source of her pulmonary distress. Her lungs were full of volcanic ash. That wasn't ideal.

Yue heard a coughing sound. She turned her head and saw Teo coughing into his elbow. When he was done, Yue saw blood on his sleeve. She flinched.

Aang looked up from the interesting rocks he'd found at their campsite and frowned. "Are you guys okay?"

Yue smiled at Aang. "The ash from the volcano had very small pieces of sand in it," she explained. "It isn't good for the lungs."

"I ate sand once, and I was okay," Aang said.

Teo shook his head. "Eating something isn't the same as- why did you eat sand?"

Aang shrugged. "Bumi dared me to."

Yue shook her head. "Teo is right. The lungs are more delicate than the stomach."

"Plus, do you know what sand becomes when it gets very, very hot," Teo asked.

Aang shook his head. "What?"

"Glass," Teo answered.

"Your lungs have glass in them?!" Aang's big eyes widened even more in panic.

Yue shook her head. "No, they don't. It's fine Aang. We just need a special medicine that will bind to the silica- the sand. Then we'll be fine."

Aang nodded. He looked relieved. "You hear that, Momo? Everything is going to be fine." Momo was busy chasing a bug and didn't respond.

Yue explained to Aang exactly what the herbs they needed looked, smelled, felt and tasted like. She even made ice replicas of the most important ones so he would have a visual aid.

"Wow, Yue, you're so thorough. You're going to be such an amazing teacher," Aang gushed.

Yue allowed herself to give him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Aang."

"I'll go get all this stuff. See you soon!" Aang took off running, his feet as fast as the wind.

Teo grinned. "He's such a good friend."

Yue nodded. "He i-" She started coughing again. When she took her blue handkerchief away from her face, it was red. "I just hope he hurries."

"You should sit down," Teo suggested.

Yue nodded and then followed his suggestion. She covered her hands with water again and pressed them against her chest. She pushed healing energy into her body. She took a deep breath.

She smiled and got to her feet. She swayed a bit, but she composed herself. She walked over to Teo. "I'll do some healing on you. I'll be able to tide us over until Aang gets back."

Teo nodded.

Yue reached for the water skin and frowned. "Where's the rest of the water," she murmured.

"I'll go get some," Teo offered. As soon as he finished speaking, he was overtaken by a coughing fit.

Yue took a step towards the boundary of their camp, but then her vision blurred. She sat down before she could fall and exacerbate the situation. "This isn't good," she whispered.

Momo jumped into her lap. Yue scratched the creature's head. "I don't suppose you might be able to get us some water, little friend?"

Momo scurried away, and she took that as a no.

"Aang will be back soon," Teo said.

"Of course," Yue agreed. She started coughing again.

For a little while, they were alone with just the sounds of their own and each other's coughing. Then they heard the sound of something dragging against stone. Yue smiled. Aang hadn't taken as long as she would have thought. He always came through for them.

Momo jumped into her lap. He had a bracelet hanging from his mouth. He dropped it onto her and then chittered at her. He sniffed her and then chittered some more.

Yue started to sigh and then it turned into a cough. When she was done coughing, there were red dots on Momo's fur. "Sorry," she said. "Still no chance you could bring us some water?" Momo jumped into the air and flew away.

"It won't be much longer," Teo said. Yue looked at him and noticed that he was developing a feverish pallor.

"Of course," Yue whispered.

Momo returned with a rusted gear. He left and then came back with an antique bow. He left again and then returned with some sort of tiara. After that, Yue stopped keeping track.

**Pakku**

Pakku stabbed a pufferpus tentacle with one of his chopsticks. "You should execute your cook. He's trying to poison you. He overseasons everything!"

Zuko frowned at Pakku. "We don't execute people for being bad at their jobs," Iroh's insufferable and overly literal nephew said. Pakku wanted to stab him in the face with a chopstick. "Also, he's great at his job! You savages just aren't used to real seasoning."

"Nephew," Iroh said in his I'm-so-wise-and-understanding voice. Pakku wanted to stab him in the face as well. He wanted to stab the whole ship in its collective insufferable face. "It isn't polite to refer to one's guest as a savage."

"He's a prisoner!"

"I'm a prisoner!"

When Pakku and Zuko realized they'd yelled the same thing at the same time, both scowled at each other. Pakku stabbed his overseasoned spiked tentacle again. He imagined that it was Iroh's face. That brought him some small pleasure.

"Nephew, I think that we could learn a lot from Master Pakku. He is an expert in waterbending and in Water Tribe culture."

"I don't care about Water Tribe culture! I just want to-"

"Capture the Avatar," Pakku cut him off. "We know. It's all you ever talk about. Spirits, but you are the most annoying human being on the entire planet! Talk about something else!"

Zuko's face turned red. "You can't talk to me like that! I'm the commander of this ship!"

"What are you going to do about it? Are you going to throw me overboard? Perhaps you'll slit my throat and stuff me to show off as a war trophy, you barbaric colonizer!"

Zuko stood up and stormed off, leaving his food uneaten. Pakku smirked. He pulled the boy's plate over to his part of the table. Even though it was the same dish, it tasted better than Pakku's own plate. It tasted like victory.

Iroh sighed. "Must you antagonize my nephew?"

"Your nephew is a spoiled brat," Pakku declared. "He needs a good beating."

Iroh's expression hardened. "You don't know anything about my nephew. You're entitled to your animosity towards me, but my nephew is just a child and has never done anything to you. Any other commander would have had you killed, not allow you to stay in comfortable quarters and eat in the officer's mess."

Pakku shrugged. "So he has a weak stomach in addition to being a spoiled brat. I don't care." He started stabbing Zuko's food, appetite ruined.

"You're just determined to be miserable, aren't you?"

Pakku pointed at Iroh with his chopstick. "You can take away my freedom. You can't force me to be happy about it."

"You know, Master Pakku, neither of you would ever admit it, but you and my nephew have quite a lot in common."

"I do admit it," Pakku said. "We are both forced to endure your poor company. That isn't enough to give me an affinity for the boy. He is my enemy, just as you are my enemy."

Iroh opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by the subject of their conversation releasing an outraged shout that echoed through the ship. Pakku rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?!"

Pakku raised an eyebrow at Iroh. "I think you might have a visitor."

Iroh frowned. "Stay here. It wouldn't be good for another member of the Fire Nation to see you."

"What do you mean?"

"Just be quiet. I'll be back." Iroh left.

Pakku was left alone with his guards. Pakku knew he could take them in a fight, but he would never make it off the ship. Even if he did somehow manage to evade the entire crew and make it to the sea, he had nowhere to go. Pakku stabbed another tentacle.

He could never go home again. It had been decades since he'd seen the Northern Water Tribe, but it was still his home. It was where he belonged and where his heart resided. His princess's condemnation still rang in his ears. He stabbed the tentacle again.

She had looked at him like he was a monster. Pakku knew he wasn't a monster. He was just unlucky. He couldn't have known that Kanna would betray him. He scowled as he remembered Kanna's false wife, that woman, Hama, who dared to use his own element against him. She was the monster.

Pakku had sacrificed himself for his princess. He had done the honorable thing. Dishonorable men don't do honorable things, he assured himself. He had done something good and therefore had to be a good person. That meant Kanna and Hama had been in the wrong. Yue hadn't had a clue what she was talking about.

Pakku smiled to himself, reassured. He decided to eat a bit more. He looked at his plate. The food was ruined. Well, he hadn't been hungry anyway.

Pakku got to his feet. "Take me back to my room," he ordered his guards.

They shared a look. "Prince Iroh wanted you to stay here until Admiral Zhao left."

"Who?"

"He's been searching for the Avatar," the other guard explained. "We'll take you to your quarters after he leaves."

Pakku gave a huff of displeasure, but he sat back down. He crossed his arms over his chest so that the guards would know he was unhappy. He started thinking about Kanna again. He hated thinking about her, but it wasn't something he could control. He wondered what she was doing at that moment. He wondered what his child was doing.

Iroh came back eventually. He looked as tired and unhappy as Pakku felt. They sat in silence for an extended period of time. Iroh stared at the cold plates on the table.

"Do you have children of your own," Pakku asked. "Or did they grow sick of you and that's why you're stuck with your obnoxious nephew?"

Iroh clenched his hands into fists. Then he forced them open. He placed them on his knees. "My son died in the war," he explained.

"Ah," Pakku said. "Good."

Iroh got to his feet and walked away. Pakku smiled, but he didn't feel the smile. He wasn't happy. He had shared his misery with someone else, but that didn't lessen the amount in himself. He sighed and went back to stabbing seafood.

**Zuko**

Zuko put the swords against Aang's throat. He could see Zhao on the top of the wall. Zuko was sweating under his mask. The air he inhaled was hot and stifling. His heart was racing, his blood slamming against the walls of his veins. He waited.

The gate opened. Zuko began walking backwards, and Aang followed. "That was so smart," Aang whispered. "They really thought you were going to kill me."

Zuko wanted to laugh. The Avatar thought he was with a friend. He thought he was being rescued. Zuko felt a pang of guilt, but he strangled that thought. The Avatar was his enemy, and Zuko didn't owe him anything.

The arrow flew true. It embedded itself in Zuko's left shoulder, causing him to drop his swords. Zuko fell to his knees. He stared at the bright red feathers of the fletching. The feathers were so pretty.

Someone was tugging at Zuko, and it hurt. Zuko felt himself get dragged to his feet. He was tugged along by his uninjured arm into the woods. Zuko tripped on a root and fell to his knees again. He saw blood flow from his shoulder.

The Avatar knelt in front of him. "C'mon! We just have to get to my camp. My friend Yue can heal you. Here, lean on me."

Aang grabbed Zuko's uninjured arm and threw it over his shoulder. He pulled Zuko to his feet again. Zuko didn't understand. The Avatar was free. There was no reason for him not to run. Nothing that was happening made sense.

Zuko groaned with pain. "Stop!" His throbbing arm was screaming at him. His vision was turning black at the edges. "Please stop," he begged, even though that request had never been granted before.

Aang stopped. "I'm sorry. I could try to heal it myself, but Yue hasn't taught me a lot yet, and I might make it worse. If we can just get to her, she can help you."

Zuko reached for his face and yanked off the mask he had stolen from Aang. "She won't help me," he told Aang. "Just go."

Aang gaped at Zuko, but he didn't drop him to let him fall to the ground. He should have, but he didn't. "Zuko? I don't understand."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "What don't you understand? I'm not your friend. I only helped you so that Zhao couldn't claim the honor of your capture. If you stay here though, he will. Go!"

Zuko felt exhausted. He knew he was losing a great deal of blood. Zhao's men would find them soon. He would be arrested for treason. His father would be furious. He'd be executed.

Zuko was so tired. He just wanted to sleep. "Just run," he told Aang. "He's going to kill me, and I don't want the man who killed me to get you. Please, run."

Zuko didn't get to hear Aang's answer. He passed out.

**Teo**

"Here, drink this," Teo heard Aang's voice say from far, far away. A rim was pressed to his lips, and he drank a bitter tea. Teo started coughing. Weird small white clumps were mixed into his spittle.

"Gross," Teo complained.

"Yue, it's working!" Teo blinked at Aang. Aang was sweating, and his expression was one of mixed fear and relief. Aang threw his arms around Teo's shoulders.

Teo looked around. A bunch of random stuff was dangling from or piled next to his chair. Momo was sleeping on top of a pile of jewelry. Teo blinked again. Yue was knelt next to the prone form of a figure dressed all in black with a very recognizable face.

"Is that…" There was a bloody arrow on the ground in front of his chair, like it had been tossed there after being removed. Yue pressed water against Zuko's gory shoulder.

"Yeah," Aang said. "Teo, you won't believe what happened to me while I was collecting herbs. It was crazy!"

Aang was right. Once Aang was done relaying the story, Teo didn't believe it. He looked at Zuko, lying still on the ground with Yue's glowing blue hands pressed against his shoulder. "No way would he try to help you. He was just trying to capture you for himself!"

"Yeah," Aang admitted. "He was, but he did still help me! I couldn't just leave him there. Zhao would have captured him."

Teo scoffed. "That's no worse than he deserves. He keeps trying to capture you. Maybe it would be good for him to know what it feels like."

Aang frowned. "Zhao had his soldiers shoot him with an arrow! What if they hurt him even worse? I can't just let someone get hurt if I can help them. That would go against everything the monks taught me."

Teo bit back his retort. Aang was sharing an important part of Air Nomad culture with him. Teo wanted to learn about the culture that had created the Northern Air Temple before his father showed up and destroyed everything. Teo nodded. "That was very brave of you, Aang."

Aang grinned. He looked delighted by the approval. "Thanks, Teo!"

Teo heard a groaning sound. Yue moved back and gave Zuko room to sit up. He touched his healed shoulder. "What happened," he murmured.

"Aang saved your life," Teo said, voice bitter.

Zuko stared at Aang. "Why?"

Aang looked confused by the question. He moved closer to Zuko and Yue. "Well… Why did you save me?"

Zuko got to his feet and tested his shoulder. "It doesn't even hurt," he marveled. He looked at Yue. "How did you do this?"

Yue stood up. She stared deep into his eyes. "You have a lot of Sun energy in you, do you know that?"

Zuko frowned. "I'm a member of the Fire Nation Royal Family. Of course I do."

"Hmmm," Yue said, as if she were considering something. Teo didn't get it.

Zuko tested his shoulder again. He placed a fist against his palm and bowed to Yue. "Thank you, Princess Yue."

Yue returned the bow. "You are welcome, Prince Zuko."

Teo rolled his eyes. He liked Yue a lot. She was compassionate and capable. However, all of the royalty stuff was ridiculous to him. They were in the middle of nowhere and acting as if they were in a regal palace.

Zuko moved fast. One moment, he was standing in front of Yue. Then, there was a flash of silver and he was standing behind Aang, holding a knife to his throat. "I'll be going now."

Teo felt his heart start racing as he saw a blade pressed against Aang's vulnerable neck. His mouth went dry. He wanted to strangle Zuko with his bare hands, but he couldn't. He clutched the wheels of his chair, panicking.

"What are you doing?!" Yue looked outraged. "He saved your life! I healed you! How can you do this to us after all that?"

It was strange to see Yue angry. She always kept her emotions hidden away. She looked outraged, but she also looked surprised and sad. Teo understood being sad, because Aang was in danger. He didn't understand the surprise.

"This is my duty," Zuko insisted.

Teo spotted something in the pile Momo was sleeping on. Teo reached for it. Zuko didn't spare a single glance for him. He stared at Yue.

"This is dishonorable. We provided you aid!"

Teo picked the bloody arrow up from the ground, making his fingers sticky and red. He thought about everything his father had ever taught him about physics.

"I didn't ask you to do that! I'm grateful to you, but I have to do this. I can't betray my father or my people!" Zuko's breathing was fast and heavy.

"Zuko," Aang started to say.

"Shut up!" Zuko's hands were shaking. It was only a matter of time before he cut Aang, either by accident or on purpose.

Teo nocked the arrow. He let it fly into the same shoulder Yue had just healed. The knife fell out of Zuko's hand and clattered to the ground, harmless. "Seriously," Zuko whispered.

Yue gasped. Her hands flew to her face, covering her mouth. "What did you do?!"

"What I had to!"

Zuko started to fall to the ground, but Aang caught him. Yue ran up, hands already coated with water and glowing. Aang gave Teo a disapproving look, but he was alive and safe. Teo preferred a living disappointed Aang to a dead proud one.

Teo noticed that after Yue removed the arrow for the second time, she snapped it in half. "We should tie him up after you heal him," Teo said. "Otherwise he'll just do the same thing again."

Yue looked up and frowned at Teo. She gave him a reluctant nod. Teo found some fabric among the junk Momo had procured. He ripped and braided it to make a rope.

Teo looked at Aang. "Let's get ready to leave as soon as she's done. This won't hold him long."

"I feel bad about leaving him," Aang protested. "What if Zhao finds him?"

"Better than Zhao finding us," Teo insisted.

"But-"

"Teo is right." All emotion had been purged from Yue's voice. "We need to go."

"But Zuko is your friend," Aang protested.

Yue's gaze snapped up. Her eyes widened. "What?"

"He's your friend," Aang insisted. "You guys are always nice to each other, and you have so much in common!"

Yue shook her head. "That's not… Courtesy isn't the same thing as affection. Our mission is to make it to the South Pole." She finished the healing and gestured for Teo to approach and apply the restraints.

Zuko started to wake up as Teo was finishing. Aang had Appa extend his tail into a ramp for Teo to board the bison. Teo saw Zuko struggle to sit up and blink at them. "Hey! Hey, stop!"

Teo wheeled onto the saddle. Aang picked up the reigns. "Appa," he said in a sad voice. "Yip yip!"

"Get back here and face me, you coward! Stop! Come back! Fight me!"

Teo didn't turn around to see if Zuko was able to burn through the restraints or not. That wasn't his problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please consider leaving a review if you would like to do so.


	8. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Moon finds the Sun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really hard to finish, and I almost gave up many times. But here it is! Special thanks to Havendance, whose love for this story was part of my motivation to continue it.

**Zuko**

Zuko refused to look at any of his crew. He refused to look at his uncle. He refused to look at Pakku most of all. Pakku kept glancing at him and smirking, like he knew what Zuko had done.

Zuko couldn't bear to so much as look at himself in the mirror. He had failed. The shame of it felt thick and heavy. It felt like something that had seeped through his skin and couldn't be washed out. He kept imagining the expression on Yue's face and clenching his teeth.

Zuko looked at the sky. The sun was shining down on them. The sun was always a comfort to Zuko. He felt a gentle breeze brush against his cheek, like the ocean was giving him a kiss. Zuko jolted. The breeze had changed direction.

Zuko rushed to the steering room. He slammed open the door. "What treason is this?! Why have we changed direction?!"

Zuko's uncle grinned at Zuko like Zuko had just come in wearing a polite smile and making a gentle inquiry. "Dear Nephew, there is a storm coming. We must change direction to avoid it." He picked up a Pai Sho piece from the table he and the helmsman were sitting in front of. "Would you like to play the winner?"

Zuko scowled. "Get us back on course! Now! We're right behind the Avatar! We can't afford to waste this advantage!"

"Prince Zuko, we must consider the safety of the crew," Iroh said in a gentle tone.

Zuko frowned. He opened his mouth to offer reluctant agreement to his uncle's point. He remembered the heat of the flames in the throne room. He cringed at the memory of his high, childish voice proclaiming the value of the lives of Fire Nation soldiers.

"Is everything alright, Nephew?"

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter! All that matters is finding the Avatar!" Zuko turned to the helmsman. "Get us back on course at once!"

The helmsman scrambled to obey. Zuko turned around and stormed away. He heard his uncle call out for him. Zuko quickened his pace.

Once on deck, Zuko could see the storm forming in the distance. He could feel the change of pressure in the sensitive skin around his scar. He bit his lip and ignored the pain. Suffering was his teacher. The pain would teach him respect.

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. He tried to keep them from shaking, but his success was limited. He heard footsteps approaching from his left, and he tensed up, preparing to fight the invisible intruder. The footsteps stopped just out of reach.

"You don't have to prove anything," Uncle Iroh said.

Zuko scoffed. "I do. You know I do."

"No, Prince Zuko-"

"Stop! Just-!" Zuko shook his head. "I'm so close. We almost have him."

Zuko heard a deep exhausted sigh. It created a flash of irritation inside him. He didn't understand why his uncle couldn't just be happy for him, couldn't just help him accomplish his goal. "Nephew, capturing the Avatar will not erase the past. You-"

Zuko whirled around to face his uncle. "I know that! You don't have to remind me! You don't have to keep rubbing in my face what a failure I am!"

Uncle Iroh looked crushed. "Is that what you think? Zuko, you aren't a failure. I don't think you are a failure. I'm proud of-"

Zuko sneered. "You're proud of me? I had the Avatar! He was right there! I let him escape."

Uncle Iroh sighed again. "Zuko, some things are more important-"

"Nothing is more important than capturing the Avatar!" Lighting flashed across the sky, splitting it in two. A huge crack of thunder shook the very air.

Uncle Iroh looked up at the sky, concerned. "Nephew, we need to turn the ship around."

"No!" It started to rain. "We don't, and we won't." Zuko turned to face the oncoming storm, determined to ignore his uncle.

"Zuko, this storm could sink our ship and kill everyone on board. We-"

"That won't happen!" Zuko could feel his uncle's eyes boring into the back of his head. "Our mission is blessed by the Firelord himself! The spirits wouldn't dare to interfere with our noble cause."

"Zuko, the spirits do not fear mortal men. The whims and wishes of those that walk upon the Earth do not-"

"The Firelord is more than a mortal man! To suggest otherwise is treason!" Zuko scowled. "We serve the Firelord, and so the spirits will grant us safe passage."

"Zuko-"

"Enough!" A crash of thunder loud enough to shake the sea and sky punctuated Zuko's shout. A wave crashed over the deck. Zuko felt a twinge of doubt, but he smothered it. "I won't listen to another word of your treason!"

Zuko's least favorite person in the world emerged on deck. His guards trailed behind him, protesting. He ignored the guards as if he wasn't their prisoner. Zuko glared at him.

"What's going on?! Why are we sailing into a storm?!"

"You have no right to ask questions, prisoner! Get back below deck!"

A huge wave crested over them. Pakku moved his hands and pushed the wave up so that it went over the ship and crashed down on the other side. A few drops of water splashed onto the deck, less than a handful of water altogether. "You're going to sink this wretched vessel, boy!"

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. "No waterbending! Get below deck! Now!"

Pakku turned to Uncle Iroh. "Talk some sense into the brat! He's going to get us all killed!" Lightning flashed across the sky, highlighting Pakku's enraged expression.

Zuko turned his back on the Waterbender. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Zuko's right eye went wide. A silhouette of a giant beast was visible in the distance. "There!"

"Zuko, Master Pakku is right. This is too dangerous. We-"

"He's just trying to help the Avatar escape! We can catch up with them. Tell the helmsman to keep pressing forward!" Zuko clutched the railing and stared in the direction of the silhouette.

"Zuko-!" Another crash of thunder shook the world, interrupting Uncle Iroh. A wave slammed into the side of the boat. Zuko clutched the wet railing tighter, but gravity overpowered him. "Zuko!"

Zuko hit the sea headfirst. He didn't know which way was up or which was down. He felt salt water force its way up his nose and down his throat. He thrashed about, but he didn't know if his efforts were bringing him closer to the surface or deeper beneath it.

His lungs burned, and he tried to take a breath.

**Yue**

Yue stared at the crackling flames. She didn't interrupt Aang's story. She just listened, letting the words wash over her like waves. She didn't react.

"The storm was so bad, I couldn't see. We ended up low, I don't know how. There was a wave…" Aang looked at the crackling wood. Yue could see the light dancing in his grey eyes.

"How did you survive," Teo whispered.

"I don't know," Aang admitted. "There was this light… I wasn't myself. I woke up, and I saw Yue. I was surrounded by chunks of ice, and she was staring at me, looking surprised."

Teo chuckled and tried to lighten the mood with a joke. "Yue had an expression on? She must have been more than surprised." The mood was unlightened. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Yue ran her finger along the stone floor of the cave. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Aang. I'm sorry for everything that you lost. However, I am glad that you survived. I'm glad that you're here, with us." Her voice was so soft that they had to strain to hear her.

Aang looked up at her with huge pleading eyes. Yue didn't know what he was pleading her for, but she doubted that it was something within her power to give him. She didn't look away though. She continued to meet his eyes, because that was what she could give him.

"The storm is getting worse," Teo said. He wheeled closer to the entrance of the cave. "The angle is bad. This won't be a very good shelter for much longer."

Yue stood up. She looked outside and saw the sun glittering in the distance, while dark clouds saturated with rain rushed inbetween them. "We could go through," Yue said. "We're at the edge now, and we'd escape the worst of it. If we stay here, we'll get slammed by the full force."

"I don't think it's a good idea to go flying through a storm," Teo protested. "Sure, it worked out for Aang that one time, but we shouldn't make it a habit."

"You said this shelter wouldn't be good for much longer," Aang reminded him.

"Better than flying into the middle of it," Teo protested, looking nervous. "The rain will feel like daggers on our skin. There could be hail and lightning. It's a terrible idea."

"It is," Yue agreed, because it was. She stared at the glittering sun. In the distance, it looked vulnerable somehow. "We still need to do it."

She expected more of an argument. Back home, no one listened to Yue. No one took her word for things or valued her instincts. Teo and Aang did. Once she made her feelings clear, they started to gather their things. They trusted her.

It was a new feeling, a strange feeling, to have people value her opinion. It felt peculiar to be trusted, to be respected, not as a symbol of the tribe's traditions, but an active participant in its future. It felt nice. Yue put up her hand and bent the rain away as they mounted Appa. She kept them dry as they flew.

The storm was worse as they flew forward, towards the safety represented by the bright sky. They flew towards the sun, but Yue knew that it wasn't for their own sake. They were in danger, yes, terrible danger. The storm wasn't the danger though. Yue wished Appa would fly faster.

"Look!" Teo shouted to be heard over the screaming wind. In the distance, they saw a ship. "Isn't that Zuko's ship?!"

Yue looked. She saw a figure in blue on the deck. A vise gripped her heart in her chest. "We have to go that way."

"What?!" Teo looked at her like she was crazy. "That's in the middle of the storm, and it's Zuko! He'll try to shoot us out of the sky!"

The boat was getting battered by the waves. Yue doubted they would be able to get a clear shot at anything, much less a moving target. That wasn't the point. They needed to reach the ship. They needed to reach it before-

The wind stopped. The rain stopped. Everything stopped. The whole world went quiet and looked up to stare at the black sun hanging in the sky, dead.

There was no color left in the world. Yue clutched her chest as pain hit her like a wall of ice. It felt like impossible grief, grief that ripped out the heart and ripped it to shreds. She felt like her brother, father, son and all of her friends were dead. She screamed with pain, and the whole world listened.

**Iroh**

Zuko was on the deck. Then he wasn't. Iroh panicked. He remembered Lu Ten. Lu Ten had been alive, strong, ready to fight. Then he had been dead, cold, smothered by earth.

To lose one son to the earth and another to the sea felt like a message, a punishment. Iroh understood why the spirits wanted him to suffer. He didn't understand why two virtuous youths had to be ripped from the world to accomplish that suffering. He didn't understand how Zuko could be gone.

Iroh screamed for Zuko. Then he struggled to regain his wits. Zuko didn't need his grief. Zuko needed him to focus. He turned around and faced Pakku.

"Bring him back!" The rain fell on Iroh like the arrows of long ago. The ship continued to be battered by the sea. Iroh tried not to imagine how a human body would endure such treatment.

Pakku raised an amused brow at Iroh. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Don't play games with me! Use your bending!"

Pakku shook his head. He didn't seem to mind the rain. It fell on him like a gentle kiss. "The boy forbid me to use my bending."

"You will save him! You will do as I order, or you will be bound hand and foot and thrown in after him! I imagine drowning is a shameful way for a Waterbender to die!" The wind screamed with Iroh.

Pakku glared at him with cold, hard blue eyes. "In fact, it is an honor." Pakku's voice was low, but he was easy to hear. The wind stopped to let him speak. So did the rain.

They all looked up. The sky was still, quiet and in absolute darkness. A black sun hung above them, dead, heartbreaking. Iroh couldn't breath, a fitting end for him.

A creature landed on the deck. Iroh didn't care. He didn't care about the Avatar. He stared up at the spirit he had prayed to since childhood, and he wept. There was no hope left, none at all.

"We brought the world to ruin, and ruin is our reward!" Iroh grabbed the front of his robe and ripped it open. "Great Spirit, let my life end! Do not let me see such times as these! My strength fails me!"

The princess, the pretty, polite, lying princess ran to him. Her soft eyes and gentle steps were gone. Her eyes were set, and she moved with a purpose. "Where is he?!"

Iroh didn't know who she meant, but there was only one person left that mattered to him. He pointed to the sea. "He fell overboard. Please, Princess Yue, pray to your patrons, ask them to spare my-"

Yue wasn't listening to him. She turned away from him the moment he pointed. She ran to the edge of the ship, all purpose and determination. She grabbed the railing.

"Princess Yue!" Pakku's voice filled with panic and desperation. "Stop! Please! He isn't worth it!"

Princess Yue seemed to disagree. She jumped over the railing, into the sea. Her friends gasped from atop their beast. The Avatar launched his glider into the air and threw himself after it. He took to the sky.

Iroh ran to the railing and looked over the edge. He didn't see the Princess. He didn't see the Prince. Of course, with no light, the sea was as black as volcanic rock. Nothing could be seen.

The surface was still. Everything was still. It was as if the world had died, and they were just ghosts that hadn't realized it yet. Iroh cried.

The surface of the water broke. Princess Yue reached the surface, bending the water beneath her to raise her up. She was using one hand to bend, because her other arm was wrapped around Zuko's still frame. She froze a chunk of ice under them, and it kept them above the water.

Aang landed on the ice. "Yue!"

"His lungs are full of water." She put her hand on his chest. "His heart has stopped."

"You can help him! You're a healer! I know you can do this! I believe in you."

Iroh watched, helpless. There was nothing in the world more important than what Yue was doing, but he was powerless to assist her. She pulled the water from Zuko's lungs and then pressed her fingers against his chest. She took a deep breath and pushed.

Zuko gasped for air. The sun returned to the sky. It glittered as golden and bright as it ever had before. Rain began to pour down on them again.

Master Pakku joined Iroh at the railing and bent the water under Yue's ice to return the three children to the deck. Pakku's bending was careful. The ice touched down without getting a drop of water on the children, even though they were already soaked. Master Pakku offered a hand to Yue. "Princess."

Yue took his hand and allowed him to help her up. Zuko opened his eyes and sat up. The Avatar stared at him like he wasn't afraid, just concerned. Yue stared at Zuko, and his eyes lifted to meet hers, like he didn't even see the Avatar.

"What happened," Zuko asked.

"The Sun died," Yue explained.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. It's been difficult for me to accept. I don't think it will be any easier for you. I wish I could help you, but we have to go."

Zuko struggled to his feet. He looked disoriented and unsteady. Iroh reached out and put a hand of support against his back. "You can't leave."

"I can," Yue said. "I must." She bowed. "Goodbye, Prince Zuko."

She turned to Master Pakku. "Are you coming with us?"

Master Pakku frowned. Then he nodded. "I will." He helped her onto Appa.

"Wait," Zuko said. "You're our prisoner. Stop!" He was ignored.

The Avatar used airbending to fling himself onto Appa while Pakku climbed aboard. Iroh noticed with amusement that Teo wrinkled his nose with distaste at Pakku. Iroh doubted that Pakku would get along with these children any more than he had with Zuko. The Avatar grabbed the reins.

"Uncle, stop them."

Zuko was about to fall. Iroh pulled him into a strong hug. He felt the deck move under him as the Avatar's pet took off. He held his son, and he cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you would like.

**Author's Note:**

> Well. This happened. Now I have six WIPs. Woe is me. 😭


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